Chinese academy launches automated system to speed up chip design amid US software curbs
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the nation's premier science institution, has unveiled a chip design system driven by
artificial intelligence (AI) that has the potential to significantly accelerate
semiconductor development and replace human programmers.
Developed by the State Key Laboratory of Processor and the Intelligent Software Research Centre, both under CAS, and the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the fully automated integrated circuit design system is called QiMeng, which means 'enlightenment' in Chinese.
The system uses large language models – the technology underpinning advanced AI chatbots. Details were published in a research paper last week and open-sourced on GitHub.
According to the developers, chips designed by QiMeng match the performance and efficiency of those created by human experts. A customised autonomous-driving chip, for example, which might take weeks for a team of human developers to create could be accomplished by QiMeng in just days, according to the team.
An overview of the automated chip design system QiMeng. Photo: Handout
The unveiling of QiMeng comes as the US has pressured leading electronic design automation (EDA) software suppliers to
halt sales of chip design tools to China , further complicating Beijing's goal to strengthen its semiconductor industry.
QiMeng comprises three interconnected layers: at the base is a domain-specific large processor chip model; in the middle, a hardware and software design agent; and at the top, various processor chip design applications.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
33 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
China's orchard of AI, chip grads now ripe for the pickin' as tech trade sours
When Jack Wang enrolled as an undergraduate in microelectronics at a prestigious Chinese university, the year was 2019, and China was in the early days of its trade war with the United States. Advertisement Looking back, his decision to focus on the field revolving around the design and manufacture of hi-tech microchips has proved prescient. Today, it complements Beijing's aspirations to make world-leading semiconductors amid Washington's amped-up efforts to curtail China's technological progress. Indeed, the sector has grown by leaps and bounds in the six years since Wang laid out his focus of study, and it now serves as the backbone for artificial intelligence (AI) advancements. 'I realised that this industry was booming, and AI had been kind of popular back then – it just wasn't as capable as it is today,' he said. 2019 was also the year that China's Ministry of Education approved the first batch of AI majors at 35 universities, following an action plan in 2018 that sought to turn Chinese universities into global talent hubs leading the development of next-generation AI by 2030. Advertisement Today, more than 535 universities in China offer AI-related majors, and nearly half of the world's top AI researchers are from the country, according to recent findings by Morgan Stanley. That massive pool of AI talent, in a nation of 1.4 billion people, is giving China a competitive edge in the field that has become a defining battleground in global technological and geopolitical competition, researchers and industry professionals say.
South China Morning Post
5 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Nintendo's new Switch 2 console breaks sales records in first 4 days
Nintendo said Wednesday it had sold a record 3.5 million Switch 2 units worldwide in the first four days after the console was launched. 'This is the highest global sales level for any Nintendo hardware within the first four days,' the Japanese video game giant said in a statement. Featuring a bigger screen and more processing power, the Switch 2 is an upgrade to Nintendo's blockbuster Switch console. A gamer plays Mario Kart World on the new Nintendo Switch 2 video game console system by Japanese video game company Nintendo. Photo: AFP It was released last Thursday to a global swell of fan excitement that included sold-out pre-orders and midnight store openings. Since its 2017 launch, the original Switch – which enjoyed a popularity boost during the pandemic with hit games such as Animal Crossing – has sold 152 million units. That makes it the third bestselling console of all time. Analysts predicted last week that Nintendo could score record early sales with the Switch 2, but it remains to be seen if it can match the performance of its predecessor.
South China Morning Post
7 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Alibaba's Joe Tsai says open-sourcing its AI models will boost firm's cloud business
Alibaba Group Holding chairman Joe Tsai said that open-sourcing large language models (LLMs) would spur a surge in artificial intelligence (AI) applications and boost demand for cloud computing, as the company refines the focus of its sprawling business empire after 'a period of huge ordeal'. One reason Alibaba has opted to open-source its Qwen models is that it 'democratises the usage of AI' and 'proliferates applications', which would contribute to the company's cloud computing business, Tsai said at the VivaTech trade show in Paris on Wednesday. 'The way we benefit from open source is that … it will drive demand for AI, it will drive training needs, and we see in the future a lot of needs for inference,' he said. Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, has made substantial investments in AI and cloud computing alongside its main e-commerce operations, following a sweeping restructuring initiative launched two years ago to streamline its vast empire. Visitors attend the Vivatech fair, one of Europe's biggest tech industry shows. Photo: AP A vibrant consumer internet landscape in China, combined with a competitive culture among local engineers, is driving the country's AI innovation, according to Tsai.
