Nvidia shows new research on using AI to improve chip designs
- Nvidia released a paper showing that it could use a combination of AI techniques to find better ways to place big groups of transistors to create working chips
- The research took an existing effort by the University of Texas, using what is called reinforcement learning, and added a second layer of AI on top for better results
Nvidia, the world’s leading designer of semiconductors used in creating artificial intelligence (AI), on Monday showed new research that explains how AI can be used to improve chip design.
The process of designing a chip involves deciding where to place tens of billions of tiny on-off switches called transistors on a piece of silicon to create working chips. The exact placement of those transistors has a big impact on the chip’s cost, speed and power consumption.
Chip design engineers use complex design software from firms like Synopsys and Cadence Design Systems to help them optimise the placement of those transistors.
On Monday, Nvidia released a paper showing that it could use a combination of AI techniques to find better ways to place big groups of transistors. The paper aimed to improve on a 2021 paper by Alphabet’s Google, whose findings later became the subject of controversy.
The Nvidia research took an existing effort developed by University of Texas researchers using what is called reinforcement learning and added a second layer of AI on top of it to get even better results.
