Meeting Prep: Max Mirgoli, IMEC
EVP & Chief Global Development & Venturing Officer Date: 2026-05-15 Intro via: Jillian Manus
I. WHO IS MAX MIRGOLI
Max oversees 800M+ euros of IMEC business with 1,000+ technology company partners worldwide. His portfolio has three pillars:
- Global partnerships — managing relationships with Intel, TSMC, Samsung, ASML, Qualcomm, AMD, NVIDIA, Apple, and hundreds of others through IMEC’s Industrial Affiliation Programs
- Venturing — overseeing imec.xpand (VC fund approaching ~1B euros across three funds), imec.istart (300+ companies accelerated since 2011), and IC-Link (prototype manufacturing brokerage)
- Global expansion — buildouts in Spain, Germany, the US (San Jose office opened Oct 2025), and Qatar (Feb 2026)
He sits on IMEC’s Executive Board — strategic-level visibility, not just operational.
Career arc: Panasonic corporate VP and global GM (multibillion-dollar P&L) → COO of ICOS Vision Systems (Belgian semiconductor inspection startup, NASDAQ IPO, acquired by KLA-Tencor) → IMEC. He also sits on startup boards and invests personally.
What Jillian said about him:
- “Very, very bright and extremely networked in this space”
- “He loves teaching” and is “kind of a level person” — educates and mentors, not just transacts
- “My gut says to talk to Max first. Because he’s part of the evolution of semiconductors and how they are, where the bottlenecks are and where the distribution”
- He is “also an investor” — could “check two boxes”
- Matthew Freedman (General Paparo’s team) would “respect that you’ve talked to Max first”
II. WHAT IS IMEC
The world’s leading independent semiconductor R&D organization. Founded 1984, Leuven, Belgium. Often called “the Switzerland of semiconductors” — its neutrality (Belgium has no indigenous chip manufacturer) is its core asset. Competitors trust IMEC because it has no horse in the race.
Scale: 5,500+ researchers, 90+ countries, budget exceeding $1B/year, 12,000 sq meters of cleanroom, 850 active semiconductor PhD students.
Business model: ~75% of budget from industry partners who pay to participate in pre-competitive R&D programs, ~25% from Flemish government and EU funding. IMEC researches 3-4 technology generations ahead of current manufacturing (N+3, N+4 nodes).
Venturing ecosystem (under Max):
- imec.xpand — Independent VC fund. Fund I: 135M euros, Fund II: 400M+ euros, Fund III targeting ~1B euros. Does not invest in China.
- imec.istart — Accelerator. 300+ companies since 2011. Pre-seed funding and tailored support.
- IC-Link — Bundles small startup requests so fabs like TSMC will service them.
- 100+ spin-off companies created.
Geopolitics: IMEC voluntarily aligned with US export restrictions even though European rules are more permissive. Drastically reduced Chinese partnerships. Belgian authorities previously deported Chinese researchers suspected of espionage. imec.xpand explicitly excludes China.
Leadership transition (April 2026): Luc Van den Hove moved to Chairman; Patrick Vandenameele became CEO.
III. WHY THIS CONVERSATION MATTERS — THE “PICKS AND SHOVELS” FRAMING
The thesis has been evolving. The canonical version (V6) positions compliance as the initial wedge toward a data asset and financial infrastructure. But recent interviews have surfaced a broader opportunity — and a tension:
The Lonny Orona signal (May 12): NVIDIA’s reverse supply chain runs on email and spreadsheets. $5T company, $8.22B in warranty reserves, ~9% annualized GPU failure rate at hyperscale, and no integrated system connecting case management → material planning → demand forecasting → 3PL → repair. Lonny is actively procuring external tooling and never mentioned compliance once. His pain is pure operational workflow integration.
The Minseok Kim warning (May 5): Compliance screening generates “binary data insufficient for a real digital twin.” Operational workflows generate richer data exhaust — failure modes, repair histories, return flows, spare inventory, supplier performance, transit times.
The emerging question: Is compliance the right initial wedge, or is one of many operational workflows the better entry point? The “picks and shovels” framing says: build the unglamorous workflow tooling that semiconductor companies actually need to run their operations, and let the data asset emerge from that work. Compliance is one such workflow. Reverse logistics is another. Supplier onboarding, demand planning integration, cross-border shipment coordination — these are all potential “picks and shovels.”
Why Max is the right person to pressure-test this: He literally sees the entire semiconductor ecosystem through 1,000+ partner relationships. He can tell you which operational workflows are broken, where pain is most acute, who is buying vs. exploring, and whether a “picks and shovels” platform play makes sense from someone who has watched this industry for 33+ years.
IV. WHAT WE WANT TO LEARN
Three categories, in priority order:
A. Where the industry’s operational pain actually is
Max sees the ecosystem from the R&D center outward — he touches fabs, equipment makers, OEMs, startups, governments. We want his map of where semiconductor companies are struggling with operational workflows, beyond the commonly discussed topics.
B. Whether a “picks and shovels” platform thesis holds up
The idea: build tooling for operational workflows that semiconductor companies must run but hate running — and let the data asset compound from that foothold. Does Max see this as a real market, or does he see something we don’t?
C. What the right relationship with IMEC could look like
Is this an accelerator conversation (istart)? An investment conversation (xpand)? A partnership conversation? A “let me connect you with people” conversation? Follow Max’s lead — don’t presume.
V. DRAFT QUESTIONS
Opening — Understanding Max’s World
“You oversee partnerships with a thousand technology companies. What’s the operational problem you see companies struggling with most that people outside the industry wouldn’t expect?”
This is an open-ended question that lets Max teach. It doesn’t lead toward compliance or any specific workflow. Whatever he says is signal.
“How has the last two years — export controls, EU Chips Act, the AI scaling wave — changed the nature of those partnerships? Not just who you partner with, but how the partnerships actually operate?”
Gets at whether geopolitics has created new operational friction in how companies work together. Lets Max choose whether to talk about compliance, supply chain visibility, or something else entirely.
Probing the Operational Landscape
“We’ve been talking to people across the semiconductor value chain — fabs, OEMs, distributors, logistics providers — and we keep hearing about operational workflows that are surprisingly manual. Things like reverse logistics and repair, supplier onboarding, cross-border coordination. From where you sit, does that match what you see? Where is it worst?”
Shares a learning (reciprocity), then asks for his perspective. Does not presume the answer.
“One thing that surprised us: NVIDIA has $8 billion in warranty reserves and their reverse supply chain still runs on email and spreadsheets. Is that kind of operational gap typical in the industry, or is it NVIDIA-specific?”
Tests whether the Lonny signal generalizes. Max would know — IMEC works with all the major players.
“When companies come to IMEC — whether through the R&D partnerships or the venturing side — do they ever talk about operational infrastructure pain? Or is it always about the technology itself?”
Gets at whether the “picks and shovels” thesis has any pull in Max’s world.
Testing the Thesis
“We’re exploring the idea that there’s a category of operational workflow tooling — the ‘picks and shovels’ of the semiconductor industry — that nobody has built well because it’s not glamorous enough for pure software companies and not core enough for the chip companies to build themselves. Does that framing resonate with you, or does it miss something?”
Directly presents the thesis for reaction. The “or does it miss something” gives Max room to redirect.
“If you were starting a company today to solve a real operational problem in the semiconductor supply chain, where would you look?”
The ultimate open-ended question. Whatever Max says here is gold.
Understanding the Data Dimension
“One thing we’ve been thinking about: every operational workflow in the supply chain generates data exhaust — failure rates, transit times, supplier performance, inventory positions. In aggregate, that data could power something much bigger: risk pricing, simulation, benchmarking. Is that an insight, or is that obvious to the industry and someone’s already doing it?”
Tests the data asset thesis without using jargon like “digital twin” (which means something different at IMEC — they do urban/smart city digital twins). Max’s reaction will tell you whether the insight is real or naive.
“How much visibility do semiconductor companies actually have beyond their tier-1 suppliers? Is that getting better or worse?”
A foundational question. If the answer is “it’s already solved,” the thesis has a problem. If the answer is “nobody knows what’s beyond tier 1,” there’s a wedge.
Exploring the Relationship
“We’re very early stage — two founders, no product yet, deep into research and interviews. What would you want to see from a team like ours before you’d say ‘this is worth paying attention to’?”
Honest about stage. Lets Max set the bar.
“Are there specific people in your network who you think would have a strong perspective on the operational side of the semiconductor supply chain? We’re trying to talk to people who actually live these problems day-to-day.”
The ask. Low-friction. Lets Max decide the scope of his help.
VI. WHAT NOT TO DO
- Don’t pitch. This is a learning conversation. Max loves teaching — let him.
- Don’t lead with compliance. The vision is broader now. If compliance comes up naturally, great, but don’t steer there.
- Don’t use “digital twin” without qualification. IMEC’s digital twin work is about smart cities and urban infrastructure. If you use the term, explain what you mean specifically — a structured ontology of semiconductor supply chain relationships.
- Don’t ask about istart/xpand in the first 20 minutes. Earn the right by demonstrating genuine curiosity and understanding first. If the conversation goes well, it will come up naturally.
- Don’t oversell the stage. Max invests in startups and advises early-stage companies. He’ll respect honesty about where you are more than premature confidence.
VII. THINGS TO SHARE (RECIPROCITY)
Per the outreach style guide: every interaction should offer something, not just ask.
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The Lonny signal (anonymized): “We’ve been talking to operational leaders at major chip companies and hearing that reverse logistics — repair, returns, warranty management — is running on email and spreadsheets at trillion-dollar companies. The scaling gap between current volumes and projected AI infrastructure buildout is enormous.” This is a real insight that Max may not have heard framed this way from the R&D side.
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The compliance-to-operational evolution: “We started thinking compliance was the obvious wedge, but the more people we talk to, the more we hear that operational workflow pain is more acute and less served than compliance pain. That surprised us.” Sharing a surprise is reciprocity.
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The warranty data: NVIDIA alone holds $8.22B in warranty reserves. The entire US semiconductor industry set aside $1.75B in warranty accruals in calendar 2024. NVIDIA alone accrued $2.59B in FY2025. This is publicly available but not widely discussed — sharing it demonstrates research depth.
VIII. TACTICAL NOTES
- He splits time Bay Area / Europe. Find out where he’s based for future in-person meeting.
- He has a Persian background — Dustin noted this as a cultural connection point from the Jillian call.
- Jillian is vouching for you. Honor that by being prepared, humble, and genuinely curious.
- He’s on the Executive Board. Don’t waste his time on operational details he doesn’t own. Keep the conversation at the strategic and ecosystem level.
- The IMEC accelerator angle is real but secondary. If he brings up istart or xpand, engage. If he doesn’t, save it for a follow-up.
IX. QUESTION SEQUENCE SUGGESTION
- Start with “what’s the operational problem you see companies struggling with most” — lets Max set the frame
- Follow his thread — wherever he goes is where the learning is
- Share the reverse logistics signal as reciprocity when it fits naturally
- Test the “picks and shovels” thesis in the middle of the conversation, after rapport is established
- Ask about supply chain visibility / data exhaust only if the conversation is going deep
- Close with “what would you want to see from us” and “who else should we talk to”
Total target: 30-45 minutes. Don’t overstay.
X. POST-CALL PRIORITIES
After the call, capture immediately:
- What surprised you?
- What did Max say that contradicted your current thinking?
- Who did he suggest you talk to?
- Did he signal interest in a follow-up, and what form?
- Did the “picks and shovels” framing resonate or fall flat?
Sources: Jillian Manus interview (2026-05-07); Lonny Orona interview (2026-05-12); reverse supply chain research brief (2026-05-13); IMEC public sources (CSIS transcript March 2024; IMEC website; Wikipedia; Euronews Feb 2026; IMEC Magazine Jan 2017); Max Mirgoli public bio (LinkedIn; Amici Lovanienses); NVIDIA SEC filings via WarrantyWeek; Meta Engineering Blog