Designing chips in the age of AI
The semiconductor industry is not one that can shy away from change, as they must stand on the very cutting edge of technology to produce what are, perhaps, the most complicated devices in human history. Yet, even pushing the envelope as they do, keeping pace with the demands of the world at large for faster, more efficient and more advanced chips increasingly requires not just adoption of the latest technology but also shifts in long-held beliefs and greater investment in the human element.
In a recent podcast, host Conor Peick was joined by Katharina Westrich, Global VP of Electronics and Semiconductors at Siemens, to discuss the challenges faced by the semiconductor industry, how they’re being addressed and what the future – especially with the rise of AI – holds.
Check out the full episode here or keep reading for some of the highlights of that conversation.
Investing in people
Katharina starts the conversation off by talking about her own journey through M&A before moving into R&D for strategy in energy and electronics and finally reaching her current position. From this, she highlights the many evenings and the extra effort required to learn and gain the required knowledge, a point of increasing difficulty faced throughout the semiconductor industry.
As a whole, the industry faces a lack of skilled workers, with Deloitte projecting a need to add a million skilled workers by 2030 or more than 100,000 annually to meet demand. Some of this can be addressed through schooling with universities building specific programs and support from government in upcoming regions such as India and the Middle East helping to train a next generation workforce. However, this alone is not enough and now, AI may be an important step in addressing the labor shortage as well.
At the same time, designing new chips requires an ever-increasing amount of engineering effort as simple node shrinks fail to meet the needs of new chips, especially those used by AI and data centers. New advanced packaging methods, including 3D IC design, help build chips that can meet current demands however, these chips represent a further increase in engineering effort, further exacerbating the problem of a lack of skilled labor.
AI brings change
AI both brings increased demand to the semiconductor industry and a tool to help manage the increasing challenges the industry faces. As Katharina puts it, “…especially if we look to AI, that’s challenging the status quo. And it’s also redefining on how we design, how we develop, and also how we produce.” She goes on to explain how at Siemens, that means software defined, silicon enabled and AI powered. Software defined means that the end application, which is mostly software, defines the chips functionality. Silicon enabled means the chip enables the functionality and the execution and finally, AI powered, which means AI drives optimization throughout that whole process. This results in a process that spans from design to finished product where chips can be designed more flexibly, more efficiently and ready to meet demands in a way design processes of the past could not, moving away from hardware based functionality to software defined functionality.
AI can also help address the shortage of skilled labor, amplifying the efforts of existing workers through intelligent suggestions, accelerated design processes and end-to-end optimization. This can help bridge the skilled labor gap, which will be crucial in addressing the increasing demand for engineering skill required in the design of modern chips and fab facilities.
Chip design is a complex process that puts heavy demands on everything from the chip design itself to the factory it will be built in. With a great demand for intelligence fueling even greater demand for advanced silicon, manufacturers must be ready to adapt and adopt new technologies to better meet the demands of tomorrow with AI standing as both a powerful consumer and helper in that process.
Siemens Digital Industries Software helps organizations of all sizes digitally transform using software, hardware and services from the Siemens Xcelerator business platform. Siemens’ software and the comprehensive digital twin enable companies to optimize their design, engineering and manufacturing processes to turn today’s ideas into the sustainable products of the future. From chips to entire systems, from product to process, across all industries. Siemens Digital Industries Software – Accelerating transformation.
