# James Foster

> James Foster is a co-founder and former chief executive of XMOS, established in Bristol in July 2005. Previously CEO of Oxford Semiconductor, he promoted software-defined silicon as a way for other businesses to create differentiated chips on an existing programmable platform. A 2010 NESTA report subsequently identified him as working at Apple.

- **Role:** Semiconductor entrepreneur and former chief executive
- **Organizations:** Oxford Semiconductor, XMOS, Apple
- **Known for:** Co-founded XMOS in 2005 and served as its early chief executive., Previously led Oxford Semiconductor as chief executive., Promoted a customer-branded chip model using programmable XMOS silicon.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2005** — Served as CEO of Oxford Semiconductor.
- **2005** — Co-founded XMOS in July with Ali Dixon, Noel Hurley, David May and Hitesh Mehta.
- **2006** — Led XMOS as CEO when Prelude Trust announced £625,000 in seed funding.
- **2007** — Presented XMOS’s software-defined silicon proposition; appeared with Richard Terrill at a Seoul press presentation in December.
- **2008** — Promoted software customization and customer branding as a route into the semiconductor market.
- **2009** — Reported that an unnamed customer was selling XMOS-based chips under its own brand.
- **2010** — An October NESTA report identified him as formerly of XMOS and then at Apple.
- **2014** — 9to5Mac reported that he was a senior director of engineering at Apple.

## Achievements

- Co-founded XMOS in 2005 and served as its early chief executive.
- Previously led Oxford Semiconductor as chief executive.
- Promoted a customer-branded chip model using programmable XMOS silicon.

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/james-foster
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-12