By Stephen Nellis
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Apple is eager about tapping generative synthetic intelligence to assist velocity up the design of the customized chips on the coronary heart of its units, its prime {hardware} know-how government mentioned in personal remarks final month.
Johny Srouji, Apple’s senior vice chairman of {hardware} applied sciences, made the remarks in a speech in Belgium, the place he was receiving an award from Imec, an unbiased semiconductor analysis and growth group that works intently with a lot of the world’s largest chipmakers.
Within the speech, a recording of which was reviewed by Reuters, Srouji outlined Apple’s growth of customized chips from the primary A4 chip in an iPhone in 2010 to the newest chips that energy Mac desktop computer systems and the Imaginative and prescient Professional headset.
He mentioned one of many key classes Apple discovered was that it wanted to make use of essentially the most cutting-edge instruments obtainable to design its chips, together with the newest chip design software program from digital design automation (EDA) companies.
The 2 largest gamers in that business – Cadence Design Programs and Synopsys – have been racing so as to add synthetic intelligence to their choices.
“EDA firms are tremendous important in supporting our chip design complexities,” Srouji mentioned in his remarks. “Generative AI methods have a excessive potential in getting extra design work in much less time, and it may be an enormous productiveness enhance.”
Srouji mentioned one other key lesson Apple discovered in designing its personal chips was to make huge bets and never look again.
When Apple transitioned its Mac computer systems – its oldest energetic product line – from Intel’s chips to its personal chips in 2020, it made no contingency plans in case the change didn’t work.
“Shifting the Mac to Apple Silicon was an enormous guess for us. There was no backup plan, no split-the lineup plan, so we went all in, together with a monumental software program effort,” Srouji mentioned.
(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Modifying by Jamie Freed)
