ASIC Design Services Adds Core Deep Learning IP to SiFive DesignShare Program

The Core Deep Learning framework accelerates development of convolutional Neural Networks for IoT devices

SAN MATEO, Calif. – Aug. 21, 2018 – SiFive, the leading provider of commercial RISC-V processor IP, today announced that ASIC Design Services, a design house, IP provider, and a distributor for FPGA and EDA software, has joined the DesignShare ecosystem. Through this partnership, ASIC Design Services will provide its Core Deep Learning (CDL) technology that accelerates Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) on power-constrained embedded hardware platforms.

ASIC Design Services’ CDL technology optimizes its CNN accelerator FPGA core for performance, logic resources, and low power – making CDL suitable for IoT edge and node applications. The CDL Coldbrew software stack performs quantization and compression of CNNs, design space exploration, and generates a solution optimized for performance, resources, and low power. Coldbrew is built on the Caffe deep learning framework, and provides a simple user interface to bridge the gap between high-level CNN specification and FPGA design.

“We are excited about the increased performance and energy efficiency offered by FPGAs,” said Tony Dal Maso, CEO of ASIC Design Services. “Today, we can achieve 100 Gops/s/Watt on a low-power FPGA solution. By partnering with SiFive we enable the global community of embedded designers to accelerate deep learning solutions on embedded platforms.”

The availability of ASIC Design Services’ CDL IP through the DesignShare program shortens the time to market and removes common barriers to entry that have traditionally prevented smaller companies from developing custom silicon. Companies like SiFive, ASIC Design Services and other DesignShare partners provide low- or no-cost IP to emerging companies, minimizing the upfront engineering costs needed to bring a custom chip from design to realization.

“Adding artificial intelligence and neural networks to edge devices is increasingly in demand,” said Shafy Eltoukhy, vice president of operations and head of DesignShare for SiFive. “With ASIC Design Services addition to the DesignShare ecosystem, we continue to expand the range of IP available to designers looking to bring prototype devices to life.

Since DesignShare launched in 2017, the program has grown to include a wide range of IP solutions, from complete ASIC solutions and trace technology to embedded memory and precision PLL. For more information on DesignShare and to see the complete list of available technologies, visit www.sifive.com/designshare.

About SiFive

SiFive is the leading provider of market-ready processor core IP based on the RISC-V instruction set architecture. Led by a team of industry veterans and founded by the inventors of RISC-V, SiFive helps SoC designers reduce time-to-market and realize cost savings with customized, open-architecture processor cores, and democratizes access to optimized silicon by enabling system designers to build customized RISC-V based semiconductors. SiFive is located in Silicon Valley and has venture backing from Sutter Hill Ventures, Spark Capital, Osage University Partners, Intel Capital and Chengwei Capital, along with strategic partners Huami, SK Telecom and Western Digital. For more information, visit www.sifive.com.

About ASIC Design Services

ASIC Design Services is a design house, IP provider, and a distributor for FPGA devices and electronic design automation software. Founded in 1989, the company has its origins as a design house for ASICs. ASIC Design Services has developed a core generator for accelerating Deep Learning applications in hardware. IP solutions include Deep Learning and SATA cores. ASIC Design Services is based in Midrand, South Africa. For more information on CDL, visit www.coredeeplearning.ai. For more information on ASIC Design Services, visit www.asic.co.za.