AI-EDA startup Astrus raises seed funding
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Astrus Inc. (Toronto, Canada), a well-connected startup developing AI-based EDA tools for analog circuit layout, has raised a US$2.4 million seed funding round.
The round was led by Khosla Ventures and joined by MVP Ventures, 1517 Fund, HOF Capital and Alumni Ventures.
Astrus is developing an AI engine to automate analog layout with the goal of speeding up chip design by multiple orders of magnitude.
Astrus plans to automate analog IC place and route using deep learning reinforcement AI. Traditionally analog IC layout is a manual process that involves multiple iterations between circuit engineer and layout engineer to optimize for area and performance in a process that can take days or weeks. Astrus intends to allow multiple iterations per day with its AI engine replacing the layout engineer.
After extensive training the Astrus’ AI engine will have a nuanced understanding of the art of analog layout, the company claims. The technology works with any circuit but obvious starting points include op amps, SAR ADCs, PLLs, inverters and LDOs. Astrus makes the point that almosy every microchip uses both digital and analog circuits and that even ‘digital’ chips, such as processors, include analog circuitry.
Just the beginning
Astrus said analog layout is the beginning of its application of AI to EDA. The company said it expects to expand into handling broader, more strategic high-level decisions in the chip design process.
The company was founded by Brad Moon (CEO) and Zeyi Wang (CTO) in 2022 and received US$275,000 in pre-seed funding from Khosla Ventures, RISC Capital and the 1517 fund in February 2023 (see Canadian startup demos AI for analog chip layout).
Moon is a 2017 graduate from the University of Alberta where he specialized in analog IC design. Wang was a research assistant at the same university where he worked on AI and deep learning reinforcement.
Astrus said it would use the latest tranche of funding to recruit engineers.
According to reports Astrus has been in talks with Intel about pilot use of Astrus layout software within the company.
Related links and articles:
News articles:
Canadian startup demos AI for analog chip layout
AI-for-EDA startup raises funds from Cambridge ‘accelerator’
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