Siemens Launches AI for Faster Chip Design

The new product, named the Questa One Agentic Toolkit, integrates AI workflows built using NVIDIA's Llama Nemotron and NIM technologies. This toolkit is designed to work within Siemens' broader Fuse EDA AI system, a framework for both agentic and generative AI in electronic design. The toolkit launches with five distinct AI agents to automate specific, time-consuming tasks. These include an RTL Code Agent that generates synthesizable code from natural language, a Lint Agent for error checking, a CDC Agent for clock domain verification, a Verification Planning Agent, and a Debug Agent for accelerated root-cause analysis. Early adopter MediaTek reported significant and immediate productivity gains. According to Akshay Aggarwal, a senior engineering director at the company, engineers became proficient within hours and were able to complete tasks that typically require days. This focus on AI-driven automation addresses a major industry bottleneck, as verification can consume up to 70% of the entire chip development cycle. The "verification productivity gap" continues to widen due to the soaring complexity of modern designs like 3D-ICs and chiplet-based systems. Siemens' move is part of a larger industry trend, with competitors like Synopsys and Cadence also developing their own agentic AI capabilities. Projections suggest that by 2027, up to 90% of advanced chips will be designed with the help of agentic AI, highlighting its critical role in the future of semiconductor design. The Questa One Agentic Toolkit is currently available through an early access program. This allows customers to validate the system's governance controls and integrate the AI workflows into their established methodologies before a wider rollout.