Mythic adopts Mentor's Analog FastSPICE and Symphony platforms for AI processor design

Analog FastSPICE and Symphony tools improve verification productivity by 5x with silicon-accurate results for edge-computing analog IPUs

February 12, 2020 -- Mentor, a Siemens business, today announced that Mythic, an artificial intelligence (AI) processor company, has standardized on Mentor’s Analog FastSPICE™ Platform for custom circuit verification and device noise analysis. Additionally, Mythic has selected Mentor’s Symphony Mixed-Signal Platform to help verify the functionality of the integrated analog and digital logic in its Intelligence Processing Units (IPUs).

“Mythic IPUs leverage analog computing to perform the calculations required for deep neural network (DNN) inference inside flash memory arrays. This requires us to simulate thousands of analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) at extremely demanding accuracy specifications,” said Ty Garibay, Vice President of Engineering at Mythic. “We selected Mentor’s Analog FastSPICE Platform because it can deliver nanometer-scale SPICE accurate results and 5x productivity improvement compared to other solutions. Additionally, the full-spectrum device noise analyses help demonstrate excellent correlation with measured silicon. The Symphony Mixed-Signal Platform helped us extend our verification coverage to include the analog-to-digital interface in our IPUs.”

Mentor’s Analog FastSPICE Platform provides circuit verification for nanometer analog, radio frequency (RF), mixed-signal, memory, and custom digital circuits. Foundry certified to 5nm, the platform delivers nanometer-scale SPICE accuracy two times faster than parallel SPICE simulators. To help ensure silicon-accurate characterization, the platform includes comprehensive, full-spectrum device noise analysis. Mentor’s Symphony Mixed-Signal Platform, powered by the Analog FastSPICE solution, offers fast and accurate mixed-signal verification with industry-standard HDL simulators to provide verification of complex nanometer-scale mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs) with an intuitive use model, powerful debugging capabilities and configuration support.

"We are excited that Mythic has selected Mentor’s Analog FastSPICE and Symphony platforms for their AI processor verification and characterization flow," said Ravi Subramanian, Vice President and General Manager for the IC Verification Solutions Division of Mentor, a Siemens business. “New AI hardware architectures, such as those used in Mythic’s analog compute-in-memory technology, are really pushing the boundaries of verification. It is rewarding to see our simulation technologies address these new verification challenges and help our customers achieve aggressive time-to-market objectives.”

Founded in 2012 and based in Austin, TX and Redwood City, CA, Mythic is committed to shattering the limits that restrict AI innovation by making it much easier and more affordable to deploy accurate, consistent AI in the real world, from the data center to the edge device. The company’s unified hardware and software platform relies on analog compute-in-memory to deliver revolutionary power, cost, and performance. For more information on Mythic, please visit https://www.mythic-ai.com/.

To learn more about Mentor’s Analog FastSPICE Platform, please visit: https://bit.ly/38k62Ud. To learn more about Mentor’s Symphony Mixed-Signal Platform, please visit: https://bit.ly/3bun5F1.

Mentor Graphics Corporation, a Siemens business, is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services, and award-winning support for the world’s most successful electronic, semiconductor, and systems companies. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. Web site: http://www.mentor.com.