Network on Chip Brings Big Benefits to FPGAs

Network on Chip Brings Big Benefits to FPGAs
by Tom Simon on 12-19-2019 at 10:00 am

NAPs provide connection to high speed NoC

The conventional thinking about programmable solutions such as FPGAs is that you have to be willing to make a lot of trade-offs for their flexibility. This has certainly been the case in many instances. Even just getting data across the chip can eat up valuable routing resources and add a lot of overhead. These problems are exacerbated… Read More


New Generation of FPGA Based Distributed Accelerator Cards Offer High Performance and Adaptability

New Generation of FPGA Based Distributed Accelerator Cards Offer High Performance and Adaptability
by Tom Simon on 12-05-2019 at 10:00 am

Achronix FPGA used on BittWare Accelerator Card

We have learned from nature that two characteristics are helpful for success, diversity and adaptability. The same has been shown to be true for computing systems. Things have come a long way from when CPU centric computing was the only choice. Much heavy lifting these days is done by GPUs, ASICs, and FPGAs, with CPUs in a support … Read More


BittWare PCIe server card employs high throughput AI/ML optimized 7nm FPGA

BittWare PCIe server card employs high throughput AI/ML optimized 7nm FPGA
by Tom Simon on 10-31-2019 at 6:00 am

Back in May I wrote an article on the new Speedster7t from Achronix. This chip brings together Network on Chip (NoC) interconnect, high speed Ethernet and memory connections, and processing elements optimized for AI/ML. Speedster7t is a very exciting new FPGA that can be used effectively to accelerate a wide range of processing… Read More


Learn About Implementing SmartNICs, an Achronix White Paper

Learn About Implementing SmartNICs, an Achronix White Paper
by Randy Smith on 09-17-2019 at 10:00 am

We have all seen the announcements to provide ever-increasing network capabilities within the data centers.  Enabling these advances are improvements in connectivity including SerDes, PAM4, optical solutions, and many others. It seems 40G is old news now, and the current push is for 400G – things are changing very quickly.… Read More


Webinar – Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry 2019 Update!

Webinar – Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry 2019 Update!
by Daniel Nenni on 08-10-2019 at 6:00 am

As more than 343 people (and counting) know, we will be releasing the 2019 updated PDF version of our first book “Fabless: The Transformation of the Semiconductor Industry” via handout at a live webinar. The response has been overwhelming and I want to personally thank you. The webinar will be a brief overview of the book with a question… Read More


eFPGA – What a great idea! But I have no idea how I’d use it!

eFPGA – What a great idea! But I have no idea how I’d use it!
by Daniel Nenni on 08-05-2019 at 10:00 am

eFPGA stands for embedded Field Programmable Grid Arrays.  An eFPGA is a programmable device like an FPGA but rather than being sold as a completed chip it is licensed as a semiconductor IP block. ASIC designers can license this IP and embed it into their own chips adding the flexibility of programmability at an incremental cost.… Read More


An evolution in FPGAs

An evolution in FPGAs
by Tom Simon on 05-24-2019 at 5:00 am

Why does it seem like current FPGA devices work very much like the original telephone systems with exchanges where workers connected calls using cords and plugs? Achronix thinks it is now time to jettison Switch Blocks and adopt a new approach. Their motivation is to improve the suitability of FPGAs to machine learning applications,… Read More


Flex Logix InferX X1 Optimizes Edge Inference at Linley Processor Conference

Flex Logix InferX X1 Optimizes Edge Inference at Linley Processor Conference
by Camille Kokozaki on 04-18-2019 at 12:00 pm

Dr. Cheng Wang, Co-Founder and SVP Engineering at Flex Logix, presented the second talk in the ‘AI at the Edge’ session, at the just concluded Linley Spring Processor Conference, highlighting the InferX X1 Inference Co-Processor’s high throughout, low cost, and low power. He opened by pointing out that existing inference solutions… Read More


FPGA Landscape Update 2019

FPGA Landscape Update 2019
by Daniel Nenni on 04-01-2019 at 7:00 am

In 2015 Intel acquired Altera for $16.7B changing one of the most heated rivalries (Xilinx vs Altera) the fabless semiconductor ecosystem has ever seen. Prior to the acquisition the FPGA market was fairly evenly split between Xilinx and Altera with Lattice and Actel playing to market niches in the shadows. There were also two FPGA… Read More


Newer cryptocurrencies highlight need for agile mining strategies

Newer cryptocurrencies highlight need for agile mining strategies
by Tom Simon on 03-07-2019 at 12:00 pm

Cryptocurrencies represent a radical departure from traditional forms of money. Currencies like Bitcoin, Etherium and Monero offer many unique advantages over traditional currencies, and are changing how money is created and used. Bitcoin, the pioneer of cryptocurrencies, relies on pure computational power for so-called… Read More