The rapid proliferation of LLMs and other AI applications, and of high-end GPU platforms that run them, is putting intense pressure on the performance requirements for memory technologies. Designers need to be keenly aware of how to make the most of their memory and controller choices, which can be moving targets given the rapid… Read More
Artificial Intelligence
Siemens Fuse EDA AI Agent Releases to Orchestrate Agentic Semiconductor and PCB Design
Though terminology sometimes get fuzzy, consensus holds that an agent manages a bounded task with control through a natural language interface. An agentic orchestrator, itself an agent, manages a more complex objective requiring reasoning through multi-step actions and is responsible for orchestrating those actions. By… Read More
Breker Hosts an Energetic Panel on Spec-Driven Verification
I was fortunate to be asked to moderate an evening panel adjacent to the first day of DVCon 2026, on AI-Driven SoC Verification starting from specs. You know my skepticism on panels, finding they rarely generate insights or controversy. This panel was quite different. Panelists were Shelley Henry (CEO, Moores Lab AI), Adnan Hamid… Read More
Synopsys Explores AI/ML Impact on Mask Synthesis at SPIE 2026
The SPIE Advanced Lithography + Patterning Symposium recently concluded. This is a popular event where leading researchers gather. Challenges such as optical and EUV lithography, patterning technologies, metrology, and process integration for semiconductor manufacturing and adjacent applications are all covered. This… Read More
The Next Hurdle AI Systems Must Clear
AI isn’t having an easy ride. The media and Wall Street swing wildly between extremes on any hint of a shift in AI sentiment. Dickens saw this coming: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of … Read More
Operationalizing Secure Semiconductor Collaboration: Safely, Globally, and at Scale
Semiconductor manufacturing is among the most complex industrial activities in existence. As device geometries shrink and systems become more interconnected, software has become as critical as process technology itself. Modern fabs depend on extensive automation, real-time analytics, and deep integration between tools,… Read More
Siemens Reveals Agentic Questa
There’s no denying that verification now leads the field in agentic AI announcements, accelerating the trend around this significant contribution to design automation. Siemens have just announced their Questa One Agentic Toolkit, their response to this trend, building on the core Questa One platform. Questa One provides … Read More
How Customized Foundation IP Is Redefining Power Efficiency and Semiconductor ROI
As computing expands from data centers to edge devices, semiconductor designers face increasing pressure to optimize both performance and energy efficiency. Advanced process nodes continue to provide transistor-level improvements, but scaling alone cannot meet the demands of hyperscale AI infrastructure or ultra-low-power… Read More
An AI-Native Architecture That Eliminates GPU Inefficiencies
A recent analysis highlighted by MIT Technology Review puts the energy cost of generative AI into stark perspective. Generating a simple text response from Llama 3.1-405B—a model with 405 billion parameters, the adjustable “knobs” that enable prediction—requires on average 3,353 joules, nearly 1 watt-hour (Wh). Once cooling… Read More
An Agentic Formal Verifier. Innovation in Verification
In a break from our academic-centric picks, here we look at an agentic verification flow developed within a semiconductor company. Paul Cunningham (GM, Verification at Cadence), Raúl Camposano (Silicon Catalyst, entrepreneur, former Synopsys CTO and lecturer at Stanford, EE292A) and I continue our series on research ideas.… Read More


Intel 18A vs Intel 18A-P: What Is the Difference and Why Does It Matter?