OpenAI, Synopsys Build AI Model That Could Slash Chip Design Time
The companies will develop GPT-Synopsys, an AI model trained to use chip-design software, under an agreement that includes revenue sharing tied to its performance.
Topics
News
- Apple Tightens Mac Access Rules as AI Agents Gain Reach
- Trump Puts Intelligence Chief Jay Clayton in Charge of AI Task Force
- IBM Widens AI, Quantum Research With IIT Bombay, IISc
- AI Dispatch | AI’s Big Bets Face a Reality Check
- Pentagon Plans Four-Star Command for AI, Drone Warfare
- OpenAI, Synopsys Build AI Model That Could Slash Chip Design Time
Synopsys and OpenAI on Wednesday, September 30, announced a multiyear partnership to develop an AI model that could cut weeks or months from semiconductor design.
The model, GPT-Synopsys, will learn to operate Synopsys software used across chip development, from translating circuit descriptions into designs to arranging billions of transistors on silicon.
OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman said the goal was to help engineers navigate design trade-offs and potentially “shave off weeks, months from the design process.”
The agreement includes a performance-linked revenue-sharing arrangement. OpenAI will pay Synopsys a subscription fee while training the model to use its tools. Once customers deploy the product, the companies will share revenue based on improvements to chip designs, Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi told Reuters.
“We structured the agreement in a way that it will not be cannibalizing our business,” Ghazi said. “It will be an upside to our business given we’re delivering more value to the customer.”
AI will not replace the final engineering checks. Ghazi said designs produced with the model will still be verified using Synopsys software based on traditional computing techniques to ensure they meet the physical requirements needed for a functioning chip.
“The model needs these guardrails in order to check the physics,” Ghazi said. “The need for validating with the highest level of fidelity, what we call sign-off or ground truth, is essential.”
Synopsys announced the partnership at its investor day, where it also forecast 15% revenue growth for fiscal 2027, above analysts’ estimate of 11.19% cited by Reuters. The company expects revenue of about $11.15 billion at the midpoint of its guidance range. Its shares rose as much as 7% following the announcements.
