Key facts
- Synopsys and OpenAI are developing a new AI model, GPT-Synopsys, for chip design.
- The AI model will be trained to perform chip design tasks, optimizing circuit layouts.
- OpenAI's model will learn to use Synopsys software to reduce chip design timelines.
- Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi expects the partnership to add revenue without cannibalizing existing business.
- Synopsys raised its fiscal 2027 revenue growth forecast to 15%, above analyst estimates.
- Synopsys shares increased up to 7% following the announcements.
Synopsys, a provider of software for designing computing chips, announced a significant partnership with OpenAI to develop a specialized AI model for the chip industry. The model, dubbed GPT-Synopsys, will be trained to handle complex chip design tasks, from circuit description to transistor layout on silicon.
OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman stated that the AI model will learn to leverage Synopsys' software tools to assist engineers in making trade-offs and optimizations, potentially reducing design cycles by weeks or months. Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi indicated that OpenAI will pay a training subscription fee, and both companies will share revenue generated from the product's use, emphasizing that the collaboration is structured to add value and revenue rather than cannibalize Synopsys' existing business.
Ghazi also confirmed that the AI model's outputs will undergo verification by Synopsys' traditional computing techniques to ensure accuracy and adherence to physical constraints, a process referred to as 'sign-off' or 'ground truth'.
In addition to the OpenAI partnership, Synopsys also announced a multi-year chip design licensing deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) valued at over $1 billion. As part of this separate agreement, Synopsys will license chip design intellectual property to AWS, focusing on blueprints optimized for specific chip types. Synopsys will also adopt AWS computing and storage services and utilize Amazon Bedrock for its AI application development.
During an investor summit, Synopsys raised its revenue growth forecast for fiscal year 2027 to 15%, surpassing the 11.19% estimated by analysts. The company's shares saw an increase of up to 7% following these partnership and financial outlook announcements.