Chip Design Meets AI
Topics worth your time this issue: Asianometry on AI’s evolving role in semiconductor chip design, GPT-6 Astra’s FreeCAD and KiCad demos, a full tour of Shinkei’s automated fish processing, and mapping the commercial aviation supply chain.
P.S. We’re hard at work on our SF Tech Week event - apply to attend!
Interesting Video: AI, EDA, and Chip Design
Asianometry is back with another video essay on the latest in AI EDA, specifically for semiconductor chip design, doing his best to separate hype from reality at a time when the two are increasingly difficult to distinguish. A realization I’ve only come to in recent weeks is that part of what makes semiconductor chip design (and the specific shifts happening within the industry) so appealing to audiences beyond engineering is because the industry sits upstream of the largest capital markets in the world. Take SemiAnalysis, Asianometry, or specific episodes of the Dwarkesh Podcast: all of them translate the technical minutiae of chipmaking into a view of where hundreds of billions of dollars are moving. As they say, the spice must flow.
Jon’s read on the latest developments from Hot Chips 2026 is that these advances won’t replace existing EDA chip design tools, but will more closely resemble large language models strapped onto an EDA design harness. (For those unfamiliar, a harness is simply software that lets a model operate other tools, read the results, and use that feedback to decide what to do next.) The specific intuition is that the biggest gains will occur in parts of the design process with strong feedback loops, for instance power, performance, and area (PPA).
For broader educational resources on actually going through the full EDA design flow, check out Tiny Tapeout (both the website and paper).
Asianometry refers to the period after tapeout (when a chip design is sent to the foundry for manufacturing) as “90 days of glory” before the silicon comes back. It’s interesting to observe that each engineering industry holds the same universal truth - a design can look perfect in the abstract, but the real work begins in verification and resolving the bugs that manifest in the real thing.
More From Around The Web
Two highlights from the GPT-6 Astra launch were its use of KiCad for board layout (component placement and trace routing) and FreeCAD to generate a concept model of an automotive transmission. Where it exists between a demo and product, we’ll find out in the next few weeks.
A twist on a mechanical clock - using flexible elastomers to form digits.
A new interview with Paul Graham on ambition, startups, and great founders.
Core Memory’s tour of Shinkei covers both the hardware and company business model. Also read their study comparing manual and automated ike jime on fish welfare and product quality.
We interviewed Reed (Shinkei’s CTO) when we first started the newsletter in 2024; see above on ambition—or really, deep persistence—which manifested early in his career. I applied to SpaceX 15 times before getting the job on my 16th time over 4 years.
The CEO of iFixit is hosting a deep dive into foldable design on 9/08, the night before Apple’s anticipated folding iPhone launch.
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Interesting Diagram: Mapping the Commercial Aviation Ecosystem
A holistic view of the supply chain involved in commercial aircraft. Parts suppliers feed aircraft manufacturers, manufacturers supply airlines, and airlines move the people/cargo.
Manufacturing & Startup News
Oura filed for a U.S. IPO after reporting $1.21B in revenue over nine months and up 74% from the same period last year.
Dyson’s newest product is a camera-equipped toothbrush. It uses an on-device model to detect gaps and aim a jet of mouthwash for more ‘efficient’ flossing.
GoPro agreed to a $285M merger with Starman Optical, eliminating $92M in debt and paving the way for an expansion into defense and national security markets.
Fervo Energy signed a 396 MW power purchase agreement with Google to supply geothermal energy to a new data center in Utah starting in 2028.
Tools From Our Partners
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Zoo – AI-native CAD with a modern geometry engine, readable code, and editable feature trees for precise, editable models.
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