Synopsys, OpenAI strike deal to develop AI model for chip design work 

By Stephen Nellis

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Synopsys, a maker of software used in designing computing chips, said on Wednesday that it has struck a deal to share revenue with OpenAI as the two develop an AI model for the chip business.

GPT-Synopsys, as the model will be called, will be specifically trained and tuned to take on chip design tasks, which start with a description of the chip's circuits in a code-like language and span to determining how to lay out billions of transistors on a small square of silicon.

OpenAI's model will learn how to use Synopsys software tools to help engineers work through the various trade-offs and optimizations that happen during the design process "to be able to shave off weeks, months from the design process and to bring more chips to the world," OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman said in a video announcing the news. 

Synopsys announced the deal at an investor summit where Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi also said the company now expects 15% revenue growth for its fiscal 2027, which was above analyst estimates of 11.19% growth, according to LSEG data. Shares rose as much as 7% after the partnership and forecast announcement.

Ghazi told Reuters in an interview that OpenAI will pay Synopsys a training subscription fee for learning to use Synopsys tools. When Synopsys customers use the product, Synopsys and OpenAI will share revenue based on how well the model improves the design of a chip.

"We structured the agreement in a way that it will not be cannibalizing our business," Ghazi said. "It will be an upside to our business given we're delivering more value to the customer."

Ghazi said that the GPT-Synopsys model's work will still be double-checked by Synopsys tools that use traditional computing techniques to verify whether a chip will work.

"The model needs these guardrails in order to check the physics," Ghazi said. "The need for validating with the highest level of fidelity, what we call sign-off or ground truth, is essential."

(Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San FranciscoEditing by Nick Zieminski)