Beijing pushes AI-assisted chip design as part of self-sufficiency drive

China's Beijing government and domestic tech firms are rapidly integrating artificial intelligence into chip design software to enhance national self-sufficiency, according to a report from the 2026 International Integrated Circuit Innovation Expo in Shenzhen. Empyrean Technology, China's leading electronic design automation (EDA) toolmaker, is leading this AI-driven revolution, with its chairman Liu Weiping revealing that AI-optimized algorithms have cut the time required for circuit layout tasks from four weeks to just one.

This "paradigm shift" in chip design, from humans operating tools to humans commanding agents, is also altering the industry's business model, moving away from traditional software licensing towards a token consumption model based on agentic EDA, Liu stated.

By leveraging AI agents, Empyrean aims to develop a comprehensive platform that integrates its own tools with those of its partners, marking a significant step in its future strategy. The rise of AI in chip design is a crucial part of Beijing's broader self-reliance drive, as the global EDA market is currently dominated by Western companies like Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems, and Siemens EDA.

To address this, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released an action plan on Friday, advocating for deeper integration between AI and software, particularly in industrial industries like EDA and computer-aided design, with the goal of moving up to the high end of the global value chain by 2030. MIIT official Wang Weiwei emphasized that AI is redefining traditional software development models, offering a historic opportunity to reshape the competitive landscape and outpace rivals.