Synapse Design and Flex Logix Tape Out Mutual Customer ASIC on a New Process in Less Than a Year Using Embedded FPGA (eFPGA) Technology

Demonstrates how EFLX eFPGA can Significanty Shorten Design Cycles and Save Costs Even for the Most Advanced ASICs

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – February 1, 2021 – Flex Logix Technologies, Inc., supplier of the fastest and most-efficient AI edge inference accelerator and the leading supplier of eFPGA IP, and Synapse Design Automation Inc.®, a leading design services partner serving tier one system and semiconductor companies, today announced that they have successfully taped out a new ASIC for a mutual customer using the EFLX eFPGA IP ported to a new process in less than a year. EFLX is the only eFPGA IP available that is scalable and portable enough to meet aggressive time to market design cycles.

Portable and Scalable eFPGA to Meet Customer Requirements

eFPGA functionality is becoming more common in ASIC RFQs as system and semiconductor companies seek longer lifetimes out of their chip investments by being able to reprogram hardwired accelerators as algorithms and protocols change. To speed time to market, Flex Logix’s EFLX eFPGA can be ported to any CMOS process in six – eight months and supports 1K - >300K LUT4 equivalents, which enables design services companies to meet their customer’s eFPGA needs.

“We were delighted to work with Synapse Design and our joint customer who had an aggressive chip development cycle,” said Geoff Tate, CEO of Flex Logix. “Because of our patented XFLXÔ interconnect and standard cell design methodology, we were able to provide the customer with early IP drops that allowed them to co-develop the ASIC while porting to a new process node. While we’ve successly enabled multiple customers to also co-develop their chip while porting to planer and FinFet processes with successful first-time working silicon, this is the first design services company customer.”

First Time Success ASICs

Through years of experience developing ASICs and SoCs for the world’s largest system and semiconductor companies, Synapse Design has crafted time-tested and proven design flows and methodologies ensuring its customers the fastest design times and “first-time success” ASICs. The Company engages with customers at any point in the design process that best supports their project goals from architecture spec to GDS hand-off targeting all process nodes. With more than seven engineering delivery centers around the world, Synapse Design can be close to its customers and deliver products on time.

“As designers of some of the most complex, mixed-signal, multi-million gate SoCs in the world, Synapse Design is constantly helping customers bring innovative products to market,” said Satish Bagalkotkar, CEO and Co-founder of Synapse Design. “We are fortunate to have Flex Logix as an eFPGA partner. Through their EFLX product and responsive team, they dramatically reduced time to new process technology for a joint customer.”

About Flex Logix eFPGA Cores

Flex Logix offers two eFPGA cores: the EFLX1K core for small, low-cost applications and the EFLX4K for applications requiring large amounts of reconfigurable logix. The EFLX1K has 1K 4-input-equivalent LUTs and the EFLX4K has 4K 4-input-equivalent-LUTs. Both cores are available in all logic or a combination of logic and DSP multiplier-accumulators for DSP and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. EFLX cores can be tiled together to make larger arrays to support applications needing more LUTs as required, up to 7x7 with any mix of logic and DSP cores.

The EFLX arrays are programmed using VHDL or Verilog. The EFLX Compiler takes the output of a synthesis tool such as Synopsys Synplify and does packing, placement, routing, timing and bitstream generation. The bitstream, when loaded into the array, programs it to execute the desired RTL.

About Synapse Design

Synapse Design is the industry leader in design services for highly complex SoCs and embedded software and is the engineering backbone of many top-tier semiconductor and systems companies around the world. The company's products and services support companies creating high-end products in the graphics/AR-VR/gaming, AI/machine learning/data center, storage, wireless/mobile, networking/computing, automobile and multimedia industries. Through its people, products, technologies and services, the company delivers engineering excellence and a flexible business model enabling next generation products for its customers. Founded in 2003, the company is headquartered in the Silicon Valley.

About Flex Logix

Flex Logix provides industry-leading solutions for making flexible chips and accelerating neural network inferencing. Its InferX X1 is the industry’s fastest and most-efficient AI edge inference accelerator that will bring AI to the masses in high-volume applications, surpassing competitor’s performance at 1/7^th size and 10x lower price. Flex Logix’s eFPGA platform enables chips to be flexible to handle changing protocols, standards, algorithms, and customer needs and to implement reconfigurable accelerators that speed key workloads 30-100x compared to processors. Flex Logix is headquartered in Mountain View, California. For more information, visit https://flex-logix.com

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