MediaTek Boosts 2nm Design Efficiency by 30% with AI Tools

On January 22, 2025, Cadence, a leading provider of electronic design automation (EDA) solutions, announced that MediaTek has chosen the AI-powered Cadence Virtuoso Studio and Spectre X Simulator to support the development of 2nm chips on NVIDIA's accelerated computing platform.

As chip designs continue to grow in scale and complexity, developing advanced node technologies has become increasingly challenging for system-on-chip (SoC) providers. To meet the demanding performance and turnaround time (TAT) requirements for its 2nm high-speed analog IP, MediaTek is leveraging Cadence's proven custom and analog design solutions, with AI enhancements boosting productivity by 30%.

"With our ongoing efforts to push the boundaries of 2nm technology development, we require a trusted design solution and robust AI-driven tools to achieve our objectives," said Ching San Wu, Vice President of MediaTek. "By closely collaborating with Cadence, we have adopted Cadence Virtuoso Studio and Spectre X Simulator, which deliver the performance and accuracy needed to meet our tight design turnaround time requirements. Cadence's comprehensive automation features have significantly increased our throughput and efficiency, enhancing the productivity of our design teams by 30%."

By utilizing the Virtuoso ADE Suite, MediaTek integrates its own AI-driven optimization algorithms into its product development workflows, further boosting circuit design efficiency. Running on NVIDIA's H100 GPUs, Cadence's Spectre X delivers the same accuracy as Spectre X running on CPUs, while offering up to 6 times the performance boost for large, advanced-node design post-layout simulations.

"Enhancing performance and efficiency is crucial to advancing today's complex chip design processes," said Dion Harris, Director of Accelerated Computing at NVIDIA. "With Cadence's Spectre X running on NVIDIA's Hopper GPU, companies like MediaTek can accelerate the verification of their intricate post-layout designs, maximize simulation performance, and reduce time to market."

MediaTek's analog layout team has also adopted the Virtuoso Layout Suite's device-level routers for customized digital modules at the 2nm technology node, significantly improving layout efficiency. Furthermore, MediaTek is using AI and Virtuoso's open platform to customize prototype layouts and low-power prediction processes, further boosting design productivity by 30%.

Vinod Kariat, Vice President and General Manager of the Custom Products Division at Cadence, commented, "MediaTek's validation of our latest Virtuoso Studio and Spectre X Simulator on NVIDIA's accelerated computing platform underscores our continued investment in enhancing our industry-leading custom design solutions and AI tools. This collaboration is setting new standards for tackling the most challenging 2nm design challenges. Integrating the power of AI and GPUs into Spectre X enables MediaTek to solve large-scale verification simulation challenges faster, without compromising on accuracy."