OpenAI, Synopsys build GPT-Synopsys for chip design

Synopsys makes electronic design automation tools, the software engineers use to design computer chips and semiconductors. By licensing those tools and pairing them with OpenAI's AI technology, the partnership aims at a model that can reason about chip design and verification and directly operate the tools, with engineers delegating objectives and approving the output. That division of labor suggests the target is routine design work rather than full automation, at least in the near term.

The partners say the model will run on OpenAI's infrastructure, that customer data won't be used for training and will be stored encrypted, and that they will market the product together and share revenue. Early tests with semiconductor customers are already underway, though the body does not give results, pricing, or timing. Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi says AI could significantly speed up the design process, while OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman frames the partnership as a path to better chips and better AI.

OpenAI's separate work with Broadcom on chips built specifically for running AI models, including the recently unveiled Jalapeno chip that is described as very competitive against similar specialized chips, sits in the background. Whether GPT-Synopsys moves beyond early tests appears to hinge on how much engineers trust and adopt its output, and on whether the encrypted-data and no-training guarantees hold up for customers weighing the trade-offs.