Cognichip Raises $33M to Speed Up Chip Development with AI
Cognichip Inc., a startup aiming to boost productivity in chip design teams, has launched with $33 million in initial funding. The seed round was jointly led by Lux Capital and Mayfield, with participation from FPV and Candou Ventures.
The company is led by co-founder and CEO Faraj Aalaei, previously the CEO of Aquantia Corp., which was acquired by Marvell Technology Inc. in 2019 for $452 million. Cognichip’s other co-founders have backgrounds at major tech firms such as Apple Inc. and Google LLC.
Cognichip is developing a foundation artificial intelligence model called Artificial Chip Intelligence (ACI), designed to reduce manual work in processor development. The company believes ACI will take several years to reach its full potential but expects it to start benefiting chip designers sooner.
According to Cognichip, ACI can both accelerate chip development and lower associated costs. The company estimates that its model could cut processor design project costs by up to 75%. Additionally, ACI is said to identify opportunities to fine-tune a chip’s performance and efficiency.
The semiconductor industry has already begun leveraging AI to automate certain engineering tasks. One such task is fine-tuning chip blueprints to better align with user requirements. After engineers create a processor design, an AI model can automatically test numerous variations to find the one that best meets project needs.
Companies are also using AI in other aspects of chip design. For instance, Google’s internally developed neural network, AlphaChip, has helped optimize its TPU chips’ floor plans. Other firms are using AI to scan chips for bugs before mass production, enhancing scripts that test processor designs.
“As someone who has successfully taken two semiconductor companies public and worked as a venture capitalist, I’ve seen how semiconductor startups are often considered ‘unfundable’ due to high costs and long timelines,” Aalaei said. “With the rise of generative AI, we have a unique opportunity to rethink chip design.”
Cognichip’s ACI represents a significant step in applying AI to chip development, promising to reduce both the time and cost associated with creating advanced processors.
