Until now, buyers of analog IP have had to settle for the least bad option from a limited portfolio of standard IP products.
Agile Analog is the company behind a new approach: to give the designers of ASICs and SoCs the analog IP that they really want. And to enable this new approach, we developed the unique Composa™ methodology for the generation of customer-specified IP fresh for every new chip design.
In the digital domain, standard IP can be made to implement fixed functions and to perform as specified in any application. And digital IP readily scales from one node to another.
But standard analog IP is far less useful to chip designers than standard digital IP is, because of the fundamental characteristics of analog systems. In a sensor, for instance, the requirements in relation to parameters such as sensitivity, accuracy, precision, linearity, and stability over temperature differ from application to application. And the behaviour of analog circuits varies substantially from one process and node to another. An IP which is perfect for one application when fabricated in one foundry on one process and node.
So an analog IP supplier could claim to supply, for instance, an ADC as a standard IP ‘product’, but in reality, every single customer wants IP which is unique to them. A design services consultancy can supply hand-crafted, custom IP, but the process of creating custom IP is slow and very expensive.
ASIC and SoC designers clearly need another approach. That’s what Agile Analog provides.
Agile Analog is the creation of a team of analog engineers, chip designers and semiconductor industry executives who draw on decades of experience in the semiconductor IP industry. There, they played important roles in developing a successful market for digital IP.
The analog IP market today is far smaller and less developed. Yet chip manufacturers and designers continually strive to shorten design cycles and integrate ever more functions on-chip – factors which should create surging demand for more analog IP.
But the market has been failing its customers, because there is too little IP available, and the IP is in a standard, off-the-shelf format. Agile Analog set out to find a way to generate application-specific IP, but without the cost and delay associated with hand-crafted custom IP. Its solution is the Composa™ methodology platform.
With its Composa™ methodology, Agile Analog has solved the problem of automating the design of analog circuitry – an achievement which had eluded the semiconductor industry for decades.
Composa™ is a platform methodology for generating unique IP variants on the basis of standard platforms in functional domains such as signal conditioning, data conversion, power regulation and sensing. The Composa™ methodology draws on breakthroughs in design automation, design simulation and the application of artificial intelligence.
Compatible with the process development kits of all the world’s important CMOS foundries, the Composa™ methodology provides a proven, verified platform for the generation of unique IP on the basis of a broad array of functional specifications, design constraints and optimisation options selected by each customer and for each new design.
So now with Agile Analog, ASIC and SoC designers can specify and buy analog IP the way they want it.
Mike has worked in the semiconductor industry for 30 years in a broad range of technical, entrepreneurial, managerial and advisory roles, covering both digital and mixed signal, design methodology, technical leadership and project management.
Barnaby joined from Arm where he was VP Finance for the Product Groups, running the planning function, managing a P&L of $1.6bn, and a team of 70 people. Prior to this, his roles included VP Treasury at Arm, and as an auditor at Deloitte and at Andersen.
Pete has held several senior positions within the industry, most recently as President of Product Groups at Arm, which involved P&L ownership of all product development, marketing and licensing. Prior to this, his roles included running corporate engineering for Wolfson, General Manager for Processors at ARC, and Group Director for Cadence.
Mark has held roles as VP Emerging Technologies at Arm, GM of North American Operations and VP of Advanced Technology at CSR, and BOD positions at GSS, Surecore and Spin Memory. Alongside his role at Agile Analog, he is currently an advisor to several companies in AI/ML, High Reliability and Solar Energy fields. Mark holds a PhD in Engineering and an Honours Degree in Electronics from the Universities of Edinburgh and Dundee, Scotland respectively.
Jonathan is a Partner at Delin Ventures where he is responsible for investments into early-stage technology and life sciences businesses and funds. In addition to Agile Analog, he has led Delin’s investments in Fluidic Analytics, Turbine and Ori Biotech. Jonathan holds a PhD in mathematics from the Steklov Mathematical Institute, a JD from Harvard Law School, MA from Oxford University and BA from Williams College.
A well-recognised figure in the technology world, Sir Hossein Yassaie is also an entrepreneur with a strong belief in technological innovation and disruptions that can solve real problems, disrupt markets and improve everyday life. During his career, Sir Hossein Yassaie has made several contributions that led to industry-changing advances in key technologies including digital TV and radio, PC and games consoles, automotive, computing and, most notably, mobile devices and smartphones. He was founder and CEO of Imagination Technologies Plc until 2016, where he created a semiconductor IP business powering billions of devices. He was also behind the iconic consumer brand Pure. He now has a number of non-executive roles, chairmanships, directorships and investments in numerous disruptive global tech companies.
Camilla is a Principal at firstminute capital, $240m AUM seed fund backed by +100 unicorn founders. At firstminute, Camilla sits on the board of Agile Analog, Nabla, Airly, Mediflash and Typology. Previously, she was an Equity Research Analyst at Berenberg Bank in the ecommerce and retail team in London where she also participated in the IPO of Boozt, a Swedish fashion ecommerce. Prior to that she lived in Buenos Aires working at the OLX headquarters (the largest classifieds marketplace in emerging markets) where she led the CRM project for Latin America. She is a cum laude graduate from Columbia University where she studied History and Political Science.
Agile Analog is an in-kind partner of the technology ecosystem of semiconductor start-up incubator Silicon Catalyst (siliconcatalyst.com). Portfolio start-ups in the Silicon Catalyst network can take advantage of Agile Analog’s analog IP technology, and draw on its expertise in the rapid implementation of effective analogue semiconductor circuit designs.
Silicon Catalyst portfolio companies benefit from Agile Analog’s participation in its global series of events, and from the opportunity to meet key engineering and commercial executives at the company.