Presentation set during Si2 Annual Technology Forum

AUSTIN, Texas — (BUSINESS WIRE) — July 28, 2021 — Authors of a groundbreaking Silicon Integration Initiative white paper identifying a common data model as the most critical need to accelerate artificial intelligence and machine learning in semiconductor electronic design automation are winners of the 2021 Si2 Power of Partnerships Award.

The annual awards recognize the Si2 volunteer team that has made the most significant contributions to EDA innovation and efficiency. Si2 will present the awards at the Si2 Annual Technology Forum, Friday, August 6, 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Speakers will focus on semiconductor design-in-the-cloud strategies. The forum is open to the public and admission is free.

The white paper, produced by an Si2 Special Interest Group, reports on findings of a global survey that identifies planned usage and structural gaps for AI and ML in EDA. It is available for download at: https://si2.org/ai-ml-downloads/

Leigh Anne Clevenger, Si2 director of OpenStandards, said that the white paper identifies “a standard, common model for classifying and structuring machine learning and inference data as crucial to accelerating the use of AI/ML in EDA. This data model would provide a foundation for addressing the data organization gap for chip developers, EDA tool developers, IP providers, and researchers. It would support design data and derived data for high-interest use cases.”

The white paper also identified a common reference flow, online AI/ML courses and organized training data as industry needs.

“Brought together by their shared interest in artificial intelligence and machine learning, the authors shared their unique perspectives and experience to emphasize the importance of data to any ML solution for EDA,” Clevenger said.

Power of Partnerships winners for 2021 are:

- Kerim Kalafala, IBM, Chair
- Veeravanallur Parthasarathy, Advanced Micro Devices
- Norman Chang, Ansys
- Akhilesh Kumar, Ansys
- Elias Fallon, Cadence Design Systems
- Sriram Madhavan, GLOBALFOUNDRIES
- Prateek Bhansali, Intel
- Srinivas Bodapati, Intel
- Chandramouli Kashyap, Intel
- James Masters, Intel
- Ramy Iskander, Intento Design
- Larg Weiland, PDF Solutions
- Karthik Aadithya, Sandia National Laboratory
- Boon-Siang Cheah, Synopsys
- Mengdi He, Synopsys

Based on member and officer recommendations, Si2 executives submit nominations for the Power of Partnerships Award from which the Si2 board of directors then selects the winners.

Runners-up for 2021 are:

Compact Model Coalition, Open Model Interface Working Group
Colin Shaw, Chair, Silvaco

Contributed to Si2 initially by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, OMI is built around the TSMC Model Interface. OMI allows circuit designers to simulate and analyze such significant physical effects as self-heating and aging, and to perform extended design optimizations, including statistical modeling of process variations.

OpenAccess Coalition, Polygon Operators Working Group
James Masters, Chair, Intel

The Polygon Operators Working Group develops oaxPop, an API extension used with Si2 OpenAccess, the world’s most widely used open reference database for IC design. Originally contributed to Si2 by Intel, oaxPop brings the power of the popular Boost Polygon Library into the expanding OpenAccess design database ecosystem.

About Si2

Founded in 1988, Si2 is a leading research and development joint venture that provides standard interoperability solutions for integrated circuit design tools. All Si2 activities are carried out under the auspices of The National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, the fundamental law that defines R&D joint ventures and offers them a large measure of protection against federal antitrust laws.

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Terry Berke
tberke@si2.org
512-917-1358