#United States #Plano #agentic AI #Siemens #Questa One

Siemens Enhances Integrated Circuit Design with AI

Siemens recently announced a groundbreaking innovation in the field of integrated circuit design and verification: the Questa One Agentic Toolkit. This advanced tool harnesses the power of agentic AI workflows, aiming to streamline and accelerate the processes involved in the verification and design of complex circuits, including the latest 3D ICs and chiplet architectures. The increasing complexity of modern chip designs has necessitated innovative solutions to meet the rigorous demands of verification productivity.

Bridging the Verification Productivity Gap

As integrated circuits become more sophisticated, engineers face a widening gulf in verification productivity. The Questa One Agentic Toolkit addresses this challenge by shifting the focus from isolated tool interactions to a cohesive framework that integrates various design stages into intelligent workflows. The toolkit leverages domain-scoped agentic AI, which operates within predefined governance boundaries to efficiently reason and execute complex tasks. This support allows engineers to maintain control at critical decision junctures, all while significantly reducing the time required for verification tasks.

Abhi Kolpekwar, Senior Vice President at Siemens Digital Industries Software, highlights that "Questa One sets a new standard for smart verification". The toolkit combines AI-driven workflows with the human expertise necessary to ensure quality and trust in the verification process. The result is a tool that not only aligns with customer expectations but also delivers the results required in today’s fast-paced design environment.

Seamless Integration and Flexibility

The Questa One Agentic Toolkit is designed to work smoothly with Siemens' Fuse EDA AI system, enhancing its capabilities when utilized in a fully integrated environment. However, the open ecosystem offers flexibility, allowing organizations to integrate existing investments in other frameworks without compromising performance. This adaptability means that teams can use either established or emerging platforms, with the tool adjusting to fit their unique workflows and requirements.

Moreover, Siemens has built the toolkit on three foundational pillars: engine-native intelligence, coding application agnosticism, and scalable, connected data-driven structures. These features ensure that customers can apply the toolkit in various settings, maximizing their existing resources while benefitting from cutting-edge AI technology.

Intelligent Agents Driving the Toolkit

To illustrate the real-world application of agentic AI, Siemens’ toolkit launches with a range of intelligent agents, each serving specific functions within the design and verification process:
1. RTL Code Agent: This agent generates synthesizable RTL code based on natural language inputs, checking for violations and offering corrections aligned with industry standards.
2. Lint Agent: It runs optimal lint analysis on existing RTL, providing designers with necessary suggestions and corrections for coding errors and design violations.
3. CDC Agent: This agent configures and executes clock domain crossing verification, fine-tuning configurations based on results to ensure clean asynchronous designs.
4. Verification Planning Agent: Automatically crafts comprehensive verification plans from design specifications, structuring each section for engineer review.
5. Debug Agent: Accelerates root cause analysis by correlating various data types to identify signal issues and suggest reviews.

These agents work collaboratively across the toolkit, leveraging model context protocols (MCPs) to connect seamlessly with various Siemens verification tools and platforms.

Early Success Stories

Feedback from early adopters has shown impressive results. Tim Costa from NVIDIA emphasized the necessity of intelligent workflows in modern chip design, noting significant productivity boosts thanks to Siemens' toolkit. Meanwhile, MediaTek's engineers reported being able to master the tool rapidly, transforming days' worth of work into manageable hours, showcasing the hybrid capabilities of traditional methods combined with AI assistance.

Moving Forward

With the Questa One Agentic Toolkit now available through an early access program, Siemens is poised to set new benchmarks in design and verification processes. As digital transformation becomes a standard across industries, Siemens emphasizes its commitment to delivering solutions that not only meet current demands but anticipate future challenges in engineering. Information about the toolkit can be found on Siemens' official website.

The digital age is evolving, and with cutting-edge tools like the Questa One Toolkit, Siemens is not just paving the way for the future—it's actively building it.