Achronix Completes Production Silicon Validation of 16nm FinFET+ Speedcore eFPGA Technology

Santa Clara, Calif., January 17, 2018 – Achronix Semiconductor Corporation, a leader in FPGA-based hardware accelerator devices and embedded FPGA (eFPGA) intellectual property (IP), announced today that it completed full silicon verification of its Speedcore™ eFPGA production validation chip built on TSMC 16nm FinFET+ process technology. Rigorous bench and ATE tests were completed across full operating conditions to verify the complete functionality of the Speedcore test chip.

Speedcore IP is a fully permutable architecture technology that can be built with densities ranging from less than 10,000 look-up-tables (LUTs) up to two-million LUTs plus large amounts of embedded memory and DSP blocks. Designed specifically to be embedded in SoCs and ASICs, Speedcore eFPGA IP represents the next generation of programmable logic. It enables SoC developers to design programmability into their devices to be a platform for their reprogrammable hardware accelerators, to address changing standards, or to future-proof their products. When compared to standalone FPGAs, Speedcore eFPGAs deliver smaller die area, higher performance, lower power and lower overall system costs.

The Speedcore silicon validation device was verified using the Speeedcore16t Validation board, a platform available to potential customers to fully evaluate Speedcore eFPGA capabilities. Users have access to a number of application-specific reference designs that operate at 500MHz and can be run through the companion ACE design tool suite to evaluate Speedcore capabilities as well as proof-of-concept exploration. A demonstration video can be found at The Achronix Validation Platform Demonstration.

“The demand for Speedcore eFPGA technology has been growing exponentially since Achronix announced its availability a little over a year ago,” says Steve Mensor, vice president of marketing at Achronix. “Many companies interested in Speedcore eFPGA requested a platform to test their hardware acceleration algorithms as one of their sign-off criteria. The Speedcore16t Validation platform is an excellent tool that gives companies the ability to run their complex designs at 500MHz in hardware before finalizing their Speedcore requirements for their SoC.”

Achronix Records Banner Year

This announcement follows a year where Achronix revenue grew more than 700% year over year and exceeded $100 million, driven by sales of its Speedster^®22i FPGA family and licensing for its Speedcore eFPGA IP. Moreover, Achronix increased its headcount by 30% in 2017 and will continue to add personnel in 2018 to support significant demand for its Speedcore and Speedchip™ customized eFPGA products.

In December, Achronix was named the 2017 ACE Awards for the Company of the Year. The criteria for this prestigious award is a company exhibiting the highest degree of professionalism, staff development and retention, customer focus, technical excellence, and profitable growth, making it a true leader in the electronics sector.

About Speedcore Embedded FPGA (eFPGA)

Speedcore eFPGA IP can be integrated into an ASIC or SoC to provide a customized programmable fabric. Users specify their logic, memory and DSP resource needs, and then Achronix configures the Speedcore IP to meet their individual requirements. Speedcore LUTs, RAM blocks and DSP64 blocks can be assembled like building blocks to create the optimal programmable fabric for any given application.

Delivering smaller die area, higher performance, lower power and overall system costs, Speedcore eFPGA IP is the ideal solution for hardware accelerator applications in 5G wireless, AI/ML, high-performance computing, data center and automotive markets.

About Achronix Semiconductor Corporation

Achronix is a privately held, fabless semiconductor corporation based in Santa Clara, California. The Company developed its FPGA technology which is the basis of the Speedster22i FPGAs and Speedcore eFPGA technology. All Achronix FPGA products are supported by its ACE design tools that include integrated support for Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS) Synplify Pro. The company has sales offices and representatives in the United States, Europe, and China, and has a research and design office in Bangalore, India.