Transformative Year for Sondrel

This is our third year working with Sondrel and it has been a great experience. I have always been fascinated with the ASIC business and put a full chapter about it in our first book “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor industry.” Companies like Sondrel enabled our move to the fabless model and now they are enabling systems companies in the transformation to being fabless system companies who own their silicon.

If you have ever walked the exhibits at CES you will see ASIC companies at work bringing ideas to silicon to systems, absolutely.

Founded in 2002, Sondrel  provides a full turnkey ASIC service from architecture through silicon supply using the most advanced tools, IP, process technology, and packaging. This is the low risk way to competitive electronic products for companies big and small. Sondrel is 150+ engineer strong with hundreds of tape-outs under their belts across a wide of market segments.

The folks at Sondrel posted a bit of a brag last month but it is well deserved. The ASIC business is a crucial part of the semiconductor ecosystem and with 21 years of experience they are one to watch:

We have had a transformative year in 2023 now that we are a listed company on the London Stock Exchange (LON:SND). This has enabled us to expand our global reach and forge new partnerships to support our ambitious growth plans. Here are just a few of the many highlights of 2023:

• Prototypes of the silicon for each of our three major ASIC chip projects have been delivered to the customers and are now progressing through validation and qualification to production.
• The first of these, a next-generation AI chip from a leading semiconductor company, has already moved into production. Receipt of the production order was a significant milestone for Sondrel and demonstrated the company’s ability to deliver high-performance, complex IC designs.
• We have continued to constantly innovate with our own methodologies for design and verification for these advanced nodes, which is why our customers continue to engage with us in the most complex designs and advanced nodes down to 3nm. For example, we were part of the engineering team that taped out a 5nm design for a network chip of over 600mm².
• We are a Founding Member of Arm Total Design Ecosystem, a collaborative initiative that brings together leading semiconductor companies, design houses, and software developers to accelerate the development and deployment of powerful Arm processors. This will enable us to create ultra-complex ASIC solutions for exciting and rapidly growing applications such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Edge computing.
• North America has been a focus for significant investment in our US sales organisation, increasing the headcount and opening an office in Santa Clara, CA. As a result, we have just received an order with a new customer in Silicon Valley with several more, new customers in negotiations for our turnkey design and supply service.
• Our innovative Architecting the Future approach to design with its set of IP frameworks enabled us to close new contracts as customers can see how it reduces risks and speeds time to market. Having two of the SFA frameworks specifically designed for automotive and ISO26262 compliance, enabled us to engage with several exciting new customers in this area.
• Reflecting continued strong customer demand, our graduate hiring programme has been enlarged for 2024.  We are looking forward to supporting the growth in the semiconductor communities in the UK, Morocco and India, and welcoming these new members to our team.

Looking Ahead

“Sondrel is committed to providing its customers with the best possible IC design and manufacturing services. The company’s focus on innovation and its commitment to customer service will ensure that it continues to be a leader in the industry.” Graham Curren, Sondrel’s Founder and CEO.

Also Read:

Sondrel Extends ASIC Turnkey Design to Supply Services From Europe to US

Integrating High Speed IP at 5nm

NoC-Based SoC Design. A Sondrel Perspective

Closing the Communication Chasms in the SoC Design and Manufacturing Supply Chain