AI is giving chip startups a real shot against tech giants
AI is shaking up the semiconductor world by automating tricky chip design tasks and speeding up development.
This levels the playing field for startups, letting them compete with big players like Google and Qualcomm—without needing massive budgets.
AI tools now handle things like code generation and testing that used to take ages.
How startups are making it work
Startups such as Netrasemi have cut script-writing time from a week to just a few hours.
Mindgrove uses AI to quickly scan huge technical specs, while Maieutic has trimmed design timelines by up to 25%.
Agnit even plans to shrink its team thanks to smarter AI tools.
The upsides—and what's still tough
AI boosts productivity and slashes costs for new chipmakers, but it doesn't solve everything.
Foundry runs can still cost millions, and there are risks around sharing sensitive code or missing data.
Even so, this tech shift is only getting started.