The industry is moving from simple documentation chatbots to agentic workflows capable of performing complex, multi-step tasks like design creation, verification, and library characterization. These agents are intended to enhance engineering productivity by roughly 50%. A panel of industry experts met at DAC to discuss… Read More
Author: Mike Gianfagna
DAC 2026: A Discussion of Who Owns the Intelligence Behind Tomorrow’s Chips and How to Make it Better
Follow the Money – Agentrys Raises $24.5 Million to Build Agentic Design Automation
Agentrys recently launched a new category of design technology, Agentic Design Automation (ADA). The approach promises to revolutionize AI deployment for chip design with technology that facilitates the building of targeted agentic design flows that get better with every run. There is a lot of information available on the … Read More
GenAlpha Brings a Practical Approach for Analog AI to DAC 2026
Agentic AI was everywhere at DAC 2026. Various focus areas were presented that covered many parts of the chip design flow. Verification and debug were a popular topic since so much time is spent there. Analog design is another pressure point. Every chip design has analog content. While the size of the analog blocks may not be huge,… Read More
The End of “Good Enough” Timing Analysis
Why Advanced-Node Clock Networks Need More Than Timing Closure
Timing closure has been one of the semiconductor industry’s most reliable measures of design readiness for decades. Static timing analysis (STA) is a critical enabler for this process. It allows analysis of enormous designs across millions of paths, multiple… Read More
Bronco AI at DAC 2026, What a Difference a Year Makes
During my time at DAC 2026 I felt like I was attending two events. One was the traditional DAC where approaches to designing complex chips using the best tools and methodologies were the focus. There was another focus for the conference. This one was like the traditional DAC with an important difference. Here, the discussion centered… Read More
Agentrys Shows You How to Build a Multi-Agent System in 30 Minutes
Agentrys believes that a purpose-built multi-agent system for chip design shouldn’t be a quarter-long project. Agentic AI systems are becoming quite popular to cut design time and increase quality for complex chip design projects. The challenge is finding the right agentic flow for a particular application. There are… Read More
Focusing on the AI Big Picture with Moores Lab AI at DAC 2026
DAC 2026 proved that agentic AI design flows are here to stay. The news was conveyed both by familiar companies who we’ve seen at DAC many times before as well as new entrants to the show and the industry. Many of the solutions that were presented focused on a specific part of the design flow. Others took a broader view of the problem and… Read More
ChipAgents Leads the AI Revolution at DAC 2026
I believe this year’s DAC will be viewed as the time and place where EDA experienced a major shift. That is, the shift from the value of tools and methodology to the value of agentic design flows powered by highly trained agents. The design community will clearly need the tools and methodologies that have occupied DAC for years. But… Read More
Agentrys Launches Agentic Design Automation at DAC 2026
There were many new agentic design flows introduced at DAC this year. Some from mainstream providers and others from new startups. The increased level of activity around this technology was good to see. Most of the approaches presented at the conference were targeting specific parts of the flow. Verification and debug were popular… Read More
DAC 2026: How Undo Makes AI for Chip Design Work Better
DAC was abuzz this year with new AI-fueled approaches to chip design and debug. New tools powered by deeply trained models opened substantial possibilities to deliver higher quality designs much faster, potentially with less resources. Every new technology has its risks. For AI-driven chip design some of those risks center … Read More
Intel’s 14A Is Winning the Race Against Defects