17³Ô¹Ï Cloud
Cloud native EDA tools & pre-optimized hardware platforms
Request a Free Trial
Overview
CalligoTech, an Indian Silicon Valley startup founded in 2012, focuses on developing products and solutions for high-performance computing (HPC), big data, and AI/ML. Specializing in developing products and solutions for these cutting-edge fields, CalligoTech has been at the forefront of commercializing posit arithmetic in both hardware and software. The company's latest achievement is the successful tape-out of their new accelerator, TUNGA, the first multi-core RISC-V processor utilizing posits. This accomplishment was made possible with the support of the 17³Ô¹Ï Digital Design Family, putting CalligoTech on the path to delivering more energy-efficient CPUs.
"As a startup, having access to a full digital design flow backed by good support was critical to our success. 17³Ô¹Ï answered the call on both fronts, providing foundry-proven signoff tools that helped us achieve a successful tape-out."
Vinay N Hebballi
|Chief Operating Officer at CalligoTech
"With traditional floating-point systems, there can be calculation errors due to the rounding of numbers, which can be costly for HPC applications. A posit-based numbering system provides a way to get better computational performance and accuracy. We¡¯re providing an alternative that can mitigate the risks for next-gen designs supporting compute-intensive segments like AI."
Vinay N Hebballi
|Chief Operating Officer at CalligoTech
"The 17³Ô¹Ï team gave us confidence that IC Compiler II place-and-route solution could handle all 1.5 million gates of our design without any issues. The stability of the digital design tools and flow plus the team¡¯s support were critical in enabling four engineers to complete this project on our aggressive schedule."
Vinay N Hebballi
|Chief Operating Officer at CalligoTech
Challenges
CalligoTech faced several challenges in developing their posit-based multi-core RISC-V accelerator chip:
- Precision and Performance: The need for more precise and efficient numbering systems for HPC applications.
- Design Complexity: Managing the complexity of designing a high-performance, low-power CPU core.
- Time-to-Market: Meeting aggressive schedules with limited engineering resources.
- Tool Proficiency: Transitioning from competitive design tools to the 17³Ô¹Ï design flow.
Solution
CalligoTech utilized the 17³Ô¹Ï Digital Design Family to address these challenges:
- Full Chip Design Flow: The RTL-to-signoff flow from 17³Ô¹Ï helped achieve power, performance, and area (PPA) goals.
- Technical Expertise: 17³Ô¹Ï technical experts provided support in setting up PDK libraries and PPA recipes, and helped the team become proficient with the new tools.
- IC Compiler II: The place-and-route solution handled the 1.5 million gates of the design seamlessly, ensuring stability and efficiency.
Results
The collaboration with 17³Ô¹Ï yielded significant results for CalligoTech:
- Successful Tape-Out: Achieved successful tape-out of the TUNGA processor, the first multi-core RISC-V processor with posits.
- Efficient Design Process: The 17³Ô¹Ï design flow enabled four engineers to complete the project on an aggressive schedule.
- High-Performance CPU Core: Developed a power-efficient and computationally accurate CPU core, ideally suited for AI and HPC applications.
- Future Integration: CalligoTech plans to integrate 17³Ô¹Ï Interface IP and Memory IP into its next device and contribute to strengthening the semiconductor ecosystem in India.
With 17³Ô¹Ï Digital Design Flow, CalligoTech is poised to lead the way in next-gen computing, delivering innovative solutions for compute-intensive segments like AI, genomics, and more.
