Phỏng vấn CEO: Marc Engel của Agileo Automation

Marc Engel has served as the CEO of Agileo Automation for the past 15 years. Agileo specializes in software solutions for controlling semiconductor production equipment and connecting tools to MES systems using SECS/GEM and OPC-UA standards. Marc started his extensive 25-year engineering career in software development on the ground setting up production machines in wafer fabs in Germany, Taiwan, and China. He has worked for companies such as RECIF Technologies, Motorola Mobile Services, Akka Technologies, and Atos Origin. Marc holds a degree in engineering and industrial automation from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA, National Institutes of Applied Sciences) in Toulouse, France.

Tell us about your company

 Founded in Poitiers, France, in 2010, Agileo Automation specializes in software solutions for controlling production equipment in the semiconductor industry and connecting tools to the company’s manufacturing execution system (MES) using widely adopted industrial standards. Our expertise lies in guiding customers—whether start-ups or established manufacturers—through the phases of increasing the production readiness level of their equipment, helping them reduce time-to-market while maintaining high standards of efficiency and reliability. At the heart of Industry 4.0, our A²ECF-SEMI framework provides a robust foundation for developing equipment controller software, leveraging SEMI’s SECS/GEM and GEM300 standard suites and a portfolio of drivers for off-the-shelf semiconductor equipment, such as wafer handlers or load ports from multiple vendors. As a member of SEMI and the OPC Foundation, Agileo Automation is a key contributor to the development and integration of industry standards, such as SEMI standards and OPC Unified Architecture (OPC-UA).

What problems are you solving?

Think of us as the automated version of a Windows operating system for a computer. We develop the brain behind semiconductor production equipment. We help start-ups embrace the world of automation for their fab equipment, a world unfamiliar to them, as they often come from the research lab community. They develop innovative and complex production equipment, but they have limited knowledge of automation technologies needed to integrate it into the operational environment of a real-world manufacturing wafer fab. We help them prepare the machines to connect with commercially available robots, manage the operator interface, integrate with the company’s IT systems like MES, etc., ensuring a much faster time-to-market.

What application areas are your strongest?

The semiconductor industry is our primary application market. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) work with a wide variety of clients, wafer sizes, and carrier types found in advanced packaging facilities. We provide flexible software solutions to their complex integration challenges, including specialized advice on selecting robotic systems. We have done this kind of work for a French company, UnitySC, which works with a wide variety of semiconductor materials and diverse wafers formats. Their loading process requires specific equipment front-end modules (EFEMs), traditionally controlled using manufacturer-developed software. With our A²ECF-SEMI framework, we simplified the integration of EFEMs into UnitySC’s process modules, reducing their dependency on subsystem suppliers, automating the loading process and fab host interface, and solving complex integrations. For Soitec, by leveraging the built-in architecture of our A²ECF-SEMI framework, we developed a digital twin for the integration of a new automated SOI wafer loading robot into its production lines based in France and Singapore.

What keeps your customers up at night?

Our clients are often on tight deadlines, which can be easily disrupted by material sourcing delays or unforeseen internal process challenges. Our team is used to developing software in parallel to production machines being designed and built. A key aspect of our value proposition is minimizing the time spent on software development within the critical path of overall equipment planning. We develop our own digital twins and decouple hardware and software. Remember that some of this manufacturing equipment is shipped to the other side of the world where it not only has to be installed but also has to be maintained. Our software solutions take this kind of use case into account from the very beginning to solve issues remotely, ensuring full confidence in the quality of the software modifications made.

What does the competitive landscape look like and how do you differentiate?

There are a handful of competitors on the global scene who provide offerings similar to ours. I think what sets us apart is the overall customer experience we provide – our 20 years of global experience, our combined equipment manufacturing and software development expertise, our deep integration track record, our comprehensive suite of customizable solutions, and our service excellence. The world’s most reputable semiconductor companies trust Agileo Automation to solve their production equipment control and connectivity challenges. Our global installed product base includes over 900 controlled/connected equipment of more than 60 different types by two of the top 10 semiconductor OEMs, five in the top 50, and across more than 65 wafer fabs worldwide. A large part of our business actually comes from client referrals within the industry.

The make-or-buy decision is a particularly challenging dilemma for many of our customers. Some software solutions can certainly be developed internally, but they will likely end up being more expensive and take significantly longer to implement. Developing software at this level takes a high level of experience and maturity. Outsourcing complex software development will eventually be cheaper and lead to a faster time-to-market.

What new features/technology are you working on?

In November 2024, we launched our E84 PIO Box, a new handheld device that offers a new lightweight interface for fab staff to test semiconductor equipment software for compliance with SEMI’s E84 and GEM300 standards suite for automatic carrier delivery. It improves the readability, identification, and validation of E84 signal exchanges and functional aspects in cleanrooms or workshops. Integrated with our Speech Scenario software that emulates the fab host and validates the SECS/GEM interface with predefined test scenarios, the E84 PIO Box can easily emulate automated carrier delivery systems such as overhead hoist transport (OHT) or automated guided vehicles (AGV). It can detect non-compliance and other functional issues thanks to its close alignment with SEMI’s E84 standard.

Coming up next are new developments on the SEMI Equipment Data Acquisition (EDA) standards front. We are proud to have recently achieved a significant milestone. Our team – one of only four worldwide – successfully conducted its first SEMI EDA Freeze 3 standards interoperability tests focusing on connectivity and data acquisition with our semiconductor industry peers, including software vendors and OEMs. Our team validated key functions such as gRPC metadata usage, security administration, and data collection plan management. EDA Freeze 3 brings a substantial leap in semiconductor equipment performance through the adoption of gRPC instead of SOAP/XML, enabling reduced latency and increased data collection throughput.

What is the best advice you would give to semiconductor OEMs and equipment manufacturers when it comes to their fab automation systems?

Don’t underestimate the crucial role software plays in the deployment of production equipment. Just like the mechanical components, software requires thorough preparation, particularly regarding interfaces with operator and IT systems, to ensure the machine performs as promised within the highly complex and expensive fab manufacturing process. For example, moving a wafer from point A to point B for processing may seem straightforward at first glance; however, it involves integrating several systems from multiple suppliers, ensuring compliance with international standards, accounting for the future maintenance of equipment worldwide, ensuring scalability across the equipment family’s lifecycle, and addressing numerous other factors. These requirements demand a robust software architecture, a deep understanding of the equipment use cases, as well as qualified and experienced staff capable of simplifying complex processes to deliver peace of mind to customers.

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