Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Technologies, Johny Srouji, recently mentioned in a speech in Belgium that the company is considering using generative AI technology to accelerate the design of its own chips. This statement was made during his acceptance of an award from the independent semiconductor research organization Imec, as he reflected on Apple’s development journey since the release of its first A4 chip in 2010.
Srouji detailed the significant milestones in the evolution of Apple chips, starting with the introduction of the A4 chip in the iPhone back in 2010, and leading up to the latest chips that now power the Mac and Vision Pro. He emphasized that utilizing the most advanced tools during the chip design process is essential, including cutting-edge software from electronic design automation (EDA) companies.
Currently, the two major giants in the industry, Cadence Design Systems and Synopsys, are competing to integrate AI functionalities into their products. Srouji highlighted that EDA companies are crucial in supporting the complexity of our chip designs, and the potential of generative AI to shorten design times is enormous, significantly boosting productivity.
He also shared a key lesson that Apple learned in chip design: it’s crucial to fully commit when making major decisions, rather than leaving yourself an escape route. When Apple shifted its long-standing Mac computers to its own chips in 2020, there was no backup plan in place for potential failure. Srouji noted that transitioning the Mac to Apple Silicon was a significant gamble for the company, as they devoted themselves entirely to it, including undertaking extensive software development.
