OpenAI and Synopsys partner to build "GPT-Synopsys" for autonomous chip design

OpenAI and Synopsys have entered into a multi-year partnership to develop a specialized AI model called GPT-Synopsys. This model aims to optimize semiconductor design using Synopsys's electronic design automation (EDA) tools. The collaboration combines OpenAI's advanced AI capabilities with Synopsys's industry-leading EDA tools and agentic AI capabilities, with the goal of revolutionizing the design of semiconductors.

Engineers will delegate tasks to agents running the tools, allowing them to evaluate more options and deliver more sophisticated chips. Under the agreement, OpenAI will license Synopsys's tools to develop the model, which will run on OpenAI-hosted infrastructure. The companies will then jointly release the product and share revenue, though a release date and pricing structure have not been disclosed.

The partnership follows a trend in chip design where AI has been increasingly integrated. Synopsys has developed its own AI tool, DSO.ai, while OpenAI has developed Jalapeño, a custom inference accelerator. The new GPT-Synopsys model will build upon these efforts, allowing the AI to reason about chip design and verification and operate Synopsys tools directly.

Engineers would input objectives such as power, performance, and area (PPA) optimization, timing closure, and verification closure. The AI agents would then run the tools, interpret the results, make necessary changes, and iterate toward verified outcomes that an engineer could review. This would allow the AI model to make engineering judgments involved in using Synopsys software, learning to operate the tools like an expert engineer.

The model will be hosted on OpenAI's infrastructure and integrated with Synopsys.ai and Autopilot, as well as customers' own agent harnesses. While Synopsys has already announced early engagements with leading semiconductor customers, the immediate audience for GPT-Synopsys is expected to be professional semiconductor-design teams, including companies developing their own custom silicon.