SI2 Launches Special Interest Group For AI and ML in Electronic Design Automation

SIG Will Fill Industry Gaps to Enable Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in EDA

Silicon Integration Initiative has launched a special interest group to focus on the growing needs and opportunities in artificial intelligence and machine learning for electronic design automation.

The group will identify current solutions and technology gaps in AI and ML strategies for EDA digital design. “AI and ML are changing semiconductor design and improving performance and time to market,” said Leigh Anne Clevenger, Si2 design automation data scientist.  “Based on member company interest, we expect the SIG to propose prototype projects to accelerate the development of standards in areas such as machine learning training, and data handling and sharing.

“High manufacturing costs and the growing complexity of chip development are spurring disruptive technologies such as AI and ML,” Clevenger explained. “Si2 provides a unique opportunity for semiconductor companies, EDA suppliers and IP providers to voice their needs and focus resources on common solutions, including leveraging university research.”

The SIG is open to all Si2 members and is chaired by Joydip Das, Senior Engineer I, Samsung Austin R&D Center, and co-chaired by Kerim Kalafala, senior technical staff member, EDA, IBM.

“In recent years, the EDA industry has significantly expanded the use of AI/ML technology and techniques in its design tools,” said Das. “We’ve identified the need for a common industry-wide infrastructure to help share this information. This will help eliminate duplicative work and open up avenues for new breakthroughs.”

Other Si2 members participating in the SIG include: Advanced Micro Devices, ANSYS, Cadence Design Systems, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Intento Design, NC State University, PDF Solutions, Sandia Labs, Synopsys and the University of California, Berkeley.

About Si2

Founded in 1988, Si2 is a leading research and development joint venture that provides standard interoperability solutions for integrated circuit design tools. Its activities include support of OpenAccess, the world’s most widely used standard API and reference database for integrated circuit design. All Si2 activities are carried out under the auspices of The National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, the fundamental law that defines R&D joint ventures and offers them a large measure of protection against federal antitrust laws.

New Version of Si2 oaScript Expands IC Design Capabilities into the Cloud and AI

Design partitioning and multi-threaded parallel execution are key features of the updated scripting interface to OpenAccess, the industry’s most widely used IC design database. oaScript Version 4.0—developed by programming experts in the Silicon Integration Initiative oaScript Working Group—leverages the powerful enhancements available to OpenAccess in its most recent Data Model 6 upgrade.

“Our oaScript Working Group spent considerable time working through implementation details for optimal use in each supported scripting language”

“oaPartitions allows an application to rapidly load design instances, shapes, or vias from a given partition without loading an entire design. An application can define partitions by any criteria the developer prefers—by geography, by layer, or even alphabetically. In addition to creating partitions, applications now have access to all of the OpenAccess classes needed to work with partitions, including the partition array class,” Tiner explained.

Flexible partitions can enhance multi-threading capabilities, helping avoid collisions between design-segregated threads. For example, an application could explicitly assign a dedicated thread to each design layer, virtually guaranteeing no thread collisions. “This is very significant for applications utilizing parallel execution techniques,” Tiner added.

“Our oaScript Working Group spent considerable time working through implementation details for optimal use in each supported scripting language,” Tiner said. “As this group is made up of top EDA developers in the industry, each from unique and sometimes competing companies, their ability to collaborate is a stellar example of the value our members bring to Si2, and the strengths Si2 brings to its members.”

Rudy Albachten of Intel, chair of the oaScript Working Group, said, “With improved support for the latest versions of Python and Ruby, along with continued support for perl and tcl, oaScript 4.0 gives developers easy access to the full capabilities of the OpenAccess database. I am very proud of the hard work from the multi-company collaborative working group, and excited to see interest in using oaScript for diverse applications—including AI with Tensor Flow, using oaScript in the Anaconda platform, and usage in virtual machine environments. OaScript continues to enable designers and developers to quickly prototype custom tools. Enabling the new partitioning and multi-tasking capabilities of OpenAccess is an exciting new capability.”

Qualcomm Executive Joins Si2 Board of Directors

Pankaj Kukkal, vice president of Engineering at Qualcomm Inc., has been elected to the Silicon Integration Initiative board of directors. Si2 is a leading research and development joint venture that provides standard interoperability solutions for integrated circuit design tools.

In his current role, Kukkal oversees all EDA, emulation and post-silicon engineering functions for mobile, compute, automotive, and artificial intelligence/machine learning business units. He joined Qualcomm in 2012. He has contributed to delivering over 50 leading-edge SoCs in various application domains.

Kukkal has more than 25 years of experience in EDA, silicon, systems, and software engineering. Before joining Qualcomm, he held various leadership positions at Intel, focusing on CAD, emulation and validation. He has led the creation of several industry-leading technologies for chip design, emulation and post-silicon debug and automation.

Kukkal has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the National Institutes of Technology, India, and a master’s degree in computer engineering from the University of South Carolina.

John Ellis, president and CEO, said Kukkal brings crucial experience and domain knowledge to the Si2 board.  “Pankaj has been in key, strategic roles at Qualcomm and Intel over his long career. The insights he has gained, along with his extensive network of contacts including former associates, customers and suppliers in the semiconductor industry, will be invaluable as Si2 and its board maps out where the industry is going, and what Si2 members need from us to help propel them there most efficiently.”

About Si2

Founded in 1988, Si2 is a leading research and development joint venture that provides standard interoperability solutions for integrated circuit design tools. All Si2 activities are carried out under the auspices of The National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, the fundamental law that defines R&D joint ventures and offers them a large measure of protection against federal antitrust laws.