AMD’s Game-Changer: Instinct MI350/MI400 & Helios—Delivering Open, Scalable AI Infrastructure In our ongoing series on AI accelerators, we previously explored the hardware fueling the AI revolution. Now, we turn our focus to AMD’s latest unveilings—the Instinct MI350/MI400 GPUs and Helios rack-scale system. These innovations tackle critical bottlenecks in AI infrastructure, positioning AMD as a key […]

Deep-Tech Challenges in 2nm Physical Design Stage 1. Physical Implementation Standard Cell Design & Placement GAA introduces discrete nanosheet widths (e.g., 2/3/4 stacks), forcing standard cells to be quantized, which reduces flexibility in sizing and optimization. Cell height (track-based design) is no longer easily scalable due to BEOL and BSPDN constraints – placement becomes non-uniform and harder to optimize. GAA-based […]

AI Accelerators: Powering Embedded Systems, Edge Computing, and On-Device LLMs Introduction AI accelerators—specialized hardware like NPUs, TPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and ASICs—are revolutionizing how real-time AI operates in smart devices, from augmented reality (AR) glasses to autonomous vehicles. These accelerators are designed to handle compute-heavy tasks such as matrix multiplications and convolutions, enabling powerful AI inferencing […]

Comparing GDS-II Files and Mask Sets in IC Design & Manufacturing GDS-II (Graphic Database System II) and mask sets are two related but distinct concepts in the semiconductor design and manufacturing flow. GDS-II refers to the digital layout files used at the end of the design phase, whereas a mask set refers to the physical […]

AI-Generated Visual Threats: Solutions and Trends The unchecked proliferation of AI-generated visuals—ranging from deepfaked executive videos to convincingly forged invoices and contracts—poses a critical threat to corporate trust and operational integrity. These synthetic assets, which are increasingly easy to produce, cheap to distribute, and difficult to detect, are undermining financial integrity, brand reputation, security workflows, […]

AI in Real-World Chip Design Workflows: A Technical Overview Introduction: Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly woven into the semiconductor design flow, helping engineers handle the exploding complexity of modern chips. From high-level architecture decisions to final tapeout, AI techniques (especially machine learning and reinforcement learning) are optimizing tasks that traditionally required extensive human effort. Major […]

Agentic Workflows: Orchestrating AI Agents for Complex Tasks Heard that building agentic AI pipelines is insanely complex? Believe it or not, coordinating a team of AIs isn’t new—it’s just how we’ve always tackled big projects. Think about this: would you hire one unicorn developer to design your UI, write the backend, model your database, and […]

Redefining CPU-GPU Communication In the rapidly evolving landscape of high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI), the efficiency of data transfer between CPUs and GPUs is paramount. NVIDIA’s NVLink has long been a frontrunner in this domain, offering high-bandwidth, low-latency interconnects that surpass traditional PCIe solutions. However, competitors like AMD and Intel are making significant […]

AlphaEvolve: Revolutionizing Algorithms with AI Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just about recognizing images or answering questions—it’s now inventing smarter ways to compute. Enter AlphaEvolve, a groundbreaking AI from Google DeepMind that’s rewriting algorithms to make our technology faster, greener, and more innovative. In this post, we’ll explore what AlphaEvolve is, why it’s a […]

From Design to Silicon: A Deep Dive into Tapeout, GDS-II, and Mask Set In the intricate journey of semiconductor fabrication, the transition from a digital design to a physical chip involves several critical stages. Among these, Tapeout, GDS-II, and Mask Set play pivotal roles in ensuring that the final product accurately reflects the intended design. Let’s delve into each […]