Hardware and robotics · Semiconductor deck
Semiconductor pitch decks from architecture to tape-out.
Chip startups ask for large amounts of capital against a long timeline. The deck must make the advantage, the plan and the customer pull concrete.
Fixed prices. No calls: you brief us in writing and comment in writing.
Benchmark
Performance per watt against a baseline
Illustration only. Any figures are invented for this sample slide.
Who reads it
Semiconductor and deep tech investors.
Turnaround
5 business days for a design rebuild; 3 business days for an audit.
How it differs
How a semiconductor deck differs from a general pitch deck
A general startup deck can ship a cheap first version and learn. A chip deck asks for large sums before any product exists, against a long and fixed path: design, verification, tape-out, first silicon and production. Investors check that the advantage holds on a real workload, that the budget includes every cost to first silicon and that a respin is covered. They weigh the software stack heavily, since a chip customers cannot program will not sell. Committed design partners count for more than broad market sizing.
Slide by slide
What goes in a semiconductor deck
- 01
The workload
What the chip is for.
- 02
Architecture advantage
Why it is better for that workload.
- 03
Benchmarks
Against a baseline, with method stated.
- 04
Tape-out plan
Steps, dates and costs.
- 05
Customers and design partners
Who is engaged, and how.
- 06
Software stack
How customers will use it.
- 07
Capital plan
Total required and by milestone.
- 08
Team
Silicon and software record.
The questions behind every slide
What readers of a semiconductor deck ask
Each answer names the slide or document where it belongs. If a question has no home in your deck, the reader will ask it in writing, or stop reading.
- 1
What will first silicon cost, all in?
The capital plan slide should include masks, IP licenses, design tools, packaging and test, not only wafers. A tape-out budget table sits in the appendix.
- 2
Why this process node?
One line on the tape-out slide explains the choice in terms of cost and what the workload needs. Any later migration plan goes in the appendix.
- 3
Will you use a shared wafer run before a full mask set?
The tape-out plan should show whether a multi-project wafer run comes first and what it is meant to prove.
- 4
Which blocks are licensed and which are your own?
The architecture slide should mark licensed and in-house blocks. Investors use it to judge what is truly proprietary.
- 5
How much work is it for a customer to move their software to your chip?
The software stack slide should show the steps a developer takes to run an existing workload. Compiler and tool maturity goes in the appendix.
- 6
What do design partners actually commit?
The customers slide should state what each partner provides: workloads, engineering time, prepayment or volume intent, each labeled.
- 7
What happens if first silicon needs a respin?
The capital plan should show the cost and time of a second tape-out and whether this round covers it.
- 8
Who on the team has taken a chip from tape-out to volume production?
The team slide should list prior tape-outs and shipped products by person and role.
Headline rewrites
Slide titles that say something.
A reader skims headlines first. A label tells them the topic; a sentence tells them the point. Bracketed figures are placeholders for your own numbers.
Before
Benchmarks
After
On [workload], our chip delivers [X] times the performance per watt of [baseline]
Before
Tape-out
After
This round funds tape-out in [quarter] and first silicon with customers by [quarter]
Before
Design partners
After
[X] design partners are running their workloads on our simulator today
What we fix
Faults we see in semiconductor deck drafts
Benchmarks with no baseline.
Software stack ignored.
Tape-out costs missing.
What you receive
Documents we produce
- Investor deck
- Technical appendix
- One-page summary
Every file is delivered editable, in PowerPoint, Google Slides or Keynote, with a PDF for sending. A semiconductor deck rebuild starts at $3,500; the full Raise Set with one-pager and teaser is $10,000.
Format
Length, versions and appendix
- Length
- Commonly 15 to 20 slides, with a technical appendix that reviewers with chip experience will read closely.
- Send-ahead version
- PDF. Put the benchmark method in a footnote on each chart so it cannot be misread when forwarded.
- Presented version
- Start with the workload and why current chips serve it poorly, then the advantage, the plan to silicon and who is waiting for it.
What belongs in the appendix
- Benchmark method and conditions
- Tape-out budget table
- Block diagram with IP sources
- Software stack and tool roadmap
- Design partner engagement table
- Schedule to first silicon and production
Before you send it
Semiconductor deck checklist
- Workload named before the architecture
- Benchmark baseline and method stated
- Licensed and in-house IP marked
- All-in budget to first silicon
- Process node choice explained
- Respin cost and time covered
- Design partner commitments labeled
- Software porting path shown
Glossary
Terms used in a semiconductor deck
- Tape-out
- The point when a finished chip design is sent to the factory to make the masks.
- PPA
- Power, performance and area: the three measures chip designers trade against each other.
- Multi-project wafer (MPW)
- A shared production run where several designs split one mask set to lower the cost of early chips.
- Mask set
- The set of patterned plates used to print a chip design onto wafers, a large one-time cost.
- First silicon
- The first working chips back from the factory, which must be tested before production.
- Respin
- A second or later tape-out to fix problems found in earlier silicon.
Your written brief
What to send us for a semiconductor deck
No call needed. Send what you have; missing items are listed in our written reply, and nothing is invented to fill a gap.
- 01Architecture block diagram
- 02Benchmark or simulation results with method
- 03Tape-out budget and schedule
- 04IP license list
- 05Design partner list with what each commits
- 06Software stack description and roadmap
- 07Team bios with prior tape-outs
- 08Capital plan by milestone
Packages
Four packages, fixed prices.
Deck Audit
$1,500
3 business days
A written verdict on the deck you have, before you send it to anyone.
- Slide-by-slide notes inside your file
- The fixes that matter most, in order
- Story, numbers and design, each assessed
- The investor questions your deck leaves open
One deck, up to 20 slides. No redesign included.
Choose Deck AuditInvestor Finish
$3,500
5 business days
Your draft, rebuilt to investor standard. Design only.
- Up to 15 slides rebuilt
- Charts redrawn from your data
- Your brand applied throughout
- One written revision round
- Editable PowerPoint, Google Slides or Keynote
Design only: your wording and slide order stay as they are.
Choose Investor FinishFinish + Story
$6,500
8 business days
We restructure the argument, rewrite the headlines, then rebuild the deck.
- Up to 20 slides
- Narrative restructured from your draft and notes
- Headlines rewritten as full-sentence points
- Send-ahead PDF version
- Two written revision rounds
We work from your facts. No market research or financial modeling.
Choose Finish + StoryRaise Set
$10,000
12 business days
Everything a raise needs, in one matching set.
- Up to 30 slides plus appendix
- Investor one-pager
- Short teaser version for cold outreach
- Three written revision rounds
- All source files
No investor introductions, fundraising or legal advice.
Choose Raise SetNot included in any package: Calls or meetings · Market research · Financial modeling or valuation · Investor introductions · Fundraising, legal or securities advice. Extra slides and extra revision rounds are quoted in writing before we start them.
Questions, answered.
Where do simulation results go?+
In the main deck as a headline, with method in the appendix.
How much does a pitch deck cost here?+
A written Deck Audit is $1,500. Investor Finish, a design rebuild of up to 15 slides, is $3,500. Finish + Story, with the argument restructured, is $6,500. Raise Set, up to 30 slides with a one-pager and teaser, is $10,000.
How long does it take?+
Three business days for an audit, five for Investor Finish, eight for Finish + Story and twelve for Raise Set, counted from payment and a complete brief.
Is there a call?+
No. No package includes a call or meeting. You brief us in writing and comment in writing.
What do I need to send?+
Your draft deck in any editable format, or notes if you chose a package with writing, plus a few lines on who will read it and what you are asking for.
How do I pay?+
By card, through a secure payment link we send once scope and delivery date are confirmed in writing.
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Further reading
Sources we read when writing this page. General information only; not legal, tax or investment advice.
Have a draft? Send it today.
Choose a package, link your deck and write a few lines about who it is for. You get scope, a delivery date and a payment link in writing.