Unlocking Breakthroughs with Accelerated Compute

The future of system and electronic design is here—and it’s unprecedentedly fast. Yet, this rapid evolution is accompanied by significant challenges for the semiconductor industry. Increasing design complexity, shorter time-to-market windows, and the demand for higher performance with lower power consumption create immense pressure on innovation. Adding to this, the rising costs of advanced node development and the requirements for seamless multi-die system integration make traditional methodologies insufficient. Addressing these challenges requires rethinking approaches and leveraging breakthrough technologies to accelerate innovation.

Innovation has never been more critical across electronic design automation (EDA) and system design automation (SDA). With billions of dollars on the table—such as the projected $500 billion AI accelerator chip market by 2028—companies that can deliver innovative designs with unmatched performance and faster time to market are poised to dominate the industry. To succeed with these designs, unprecedented scale and throughput are required to enable full-system design and simulation as well as same-day turnaround to speed design closure.

Accelerated Compute Defined

At its core, accelerated compute leverages hardware specifically tailored to perform specialized tasks with extraordinary efficiency. Custom compute machines are reshaping the future of workload optimization by offering tailored solutions designed to meet the diverse and evolving needs of modern computing. Accelerated computing plays a vital role in overcoming the challenges of multi-die integration, advanced node development, and the scaling challenges of modern design automation. The technology combines hardware specialization with optimized software applications to increase the speed and turnaround time of development pipelines. By employing custom compute machines, accelerated solutions cater to specific workload needs, especially in these three key areas:

• Fast hardware models for software development: Accelerated compute hardware, like FPGA-optimized platforms, enhances the simulation of hardware for software development, enabling ultra-efficient execution speeds. This advancement significantly reduces turnaround times from days to just hours.

• Hardware/software debugging: Leveraging emulation processors enables faster, more predictable compile times and provides comprehensive solutions for pre-silicon hardware debugging. This approach accelerates hardware verification while ensuring functional and interface congruency. This process allows models to be seamlessly brought up for accelerated software validation, streamlining the development and testing phases.

• High-performance AI and scientific computing: GPU/CPU-powered systems deliver computational throughput in deep learning and simulation areas, providing unrivaled acceleration for AI and scientific applications. For instance, in deep learning, GPUs provide unparalleled acceleration for training complex neural networks, enabling faster processing of vast datasets. Similarly, in scientific simulations, these systems significantly enhance the precision and speed of modeling physical phenomena, such as molecular interactions or astrophysical events. This level of performance makes them indispensable for advancing AI research, scientific discovery, and high-performance computing (HPC) applications.

Accelerated compute has become mandatory for mainstream AI and scientific design projects today. It innovates design workflows in semiconductors, automotive, aerospace, and pharmaceutical industries by offering scalable and workload-specific solutions. This cutting-edge approach pushes the boundaries of innovation, enabling faster, more efficient problem-solving while meeting the growing demands of complex computational tasks and high-performance projects.

Transforming Team Productivity

Accelerated compute offers both technological and operational benefits, driving efficiency and collaboration across development teams. Unified systems enable the seamless evaluation of entire chips, multi-die chiplets, and package designs without isolating components, leading to significant reductions in manual iterations and inefficiencies. This scalability empowers teams to design and analyze entire systems rather than individual components, providing a holistic perspective and streamlining the process. Additionally, with unprecedented throughput enabling same-day turnaround, design convergence and stability are achieved faster than ever before. Integrated workflows further enhance collaboration between hardware and software developers, allowing for earlier identification of issues and improved validation cycles.

More importantly, these advancements free up valuable time for teams to explore a broader range of design alternatives, conduct thorough what-if comparisons, and optimize for the best solutions. With 10-80X faster speeds and scalability that can tackle the most complex challenges, we now have the tools to achieve solutions that once seemed unattainable. This combination of accelerated workflows and enhanced exploration capabilities dramatically shortens time to market, reduces costs, and creates innovative designs that deliver better results in less time.

Protium X3 – Accelerating Early Prototyping

The Cadence Protium X3 Prototyping Platform facilitates early-stage development by enabling prototype models to be created at scales ranging from 40 million ASIC gates to a staggering 48 billion gates. This high-performance, high-capacity hardware accelerates software development and testing for complex systems on chip (SoCs) and designs. By allowing a prototype of a chip or IP block to be modeled very early in the project, Protium X3 empowers software development teams to commence testing well ahead of silicon tapeout, aligning with the shift-left strategy to optimize timelines. Equipped with AMD Versal FPGA technology and advanced debugging tools, the platform allows teams to validate and iterate on complex designs efficiently. Additionally, seamless integration with the Palladium platform simplifies the transition between different testing phases, bolstering the ability to monitor signals in real time and run rapid prototyping iterations effectively.

Palladium Z3 – Redefining Hardware Verification

The Cadence Palladium Z3 Enterprise Emulation Platform enables teams to emulate hardware designs with unmatched capacity and precision. Supporting up to 48 billion ASIC gates, it allows engineers to simulate complete systems or provide pre-silicon validation for multi-die chips far earlier in the development lifecycle. Features like dynamic job relocation and SystemVerilog DPI support maximize efficiency while reducing risk, especially for ambitious SoC projects aiming for tighter integration and power efficiency.

Millennium M2000 – Pushing Boundaries in AI and Scientific Computing

Leading the way in these advancements is the Cadence Millennium M2000 Supercomputer. With NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs and optimized CPU/GPU architecture, Millennium M2000 achieves up to 80X  faster processing than traditional CPU systems. From simulating package-level interactions to analyzing molecules and quantum-scale phenomena, the Millennium supercomputer redefines design and research possibilities.

Within pharmaceutical R&D, it can be instrumental in dramatically reducing drug discovery timelines, leveraging massive-scale simulations powered by Cadence Molecular Sciences and Orion Molecular Design Platform. This level of computational power allows engineers and researchers to solve problems once deemed intractable.

Driving Value with Accelerated Solutions

Accelerated compute marks a pivotal moment in EDA and SDA. Tools like the Millennium M2000, Palladium Z3, and Protium X3 push boundaries, enabling engineers to look at entire systems rather than isolated components. Whether designing a multi-die 3D-IC, simulating the complete takeoff and landing of an aircraft, or validating an entire autonomous vehicle system, the true value lies in achieving faster design convergence through the ability to analyze holistic environments more effectively than ever before.

Design cycles that once took weeks now happen in hours, unlocking new opportunities for design exploration and optimization. Bottlenecks that previously slowed software and hardware integration have been reduced. Industries that require precision and scale now have the compute infrastructure to deliver it.

Final Thoughts

By leveraging the power of accelerated compute, we can unlock breakthroughs that redefine possibilities across industries. Whether it's groundbreaking scientific research, advanced AI development, or real-time data processing, accelerated compute paves the way for extraordinary achievements. The potential it offers is immense, ensuring that the challenges of today become the solved problems of tomorrow. This approach empowers a world of limitless innovation and remarkable progress.

Don’t just keep pace with change—lead the charge. Contact a Cadence expert to learn how accelerated compute solutions like the Millennium, Palladium, and Protium platforms can transform how you innovate, design, and deliver.

Thanks to Steve Brown for the insightful input that enriched this blog.