Chip R&D Is Accelerating to Keep Pace With AI

Semiconductor companies and universities are trying to shorten their feedback loop to meet the challenges of the AI era. In recent years, National Yang-Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan; the University of California, Berkeley ; Arizona State University ; Virginia Tech ; and others have been building closer links with industrial partners, as both sides seek to speed the turning of research into business and to inform the next round of research with fresh lessons from industry. Now, the University of California, Los Angeles, and five major semiconductor companies announced in May a new US $125 million university-industry hub that takes that idea and runs with it. Chip packages are growing larger and more complex as manufacturers scramble to keep up with the memory and processing demands o