China claims to have developed the world's first AI-designed processor — LLM turned performance requests into CPU architecture

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China’s leading scientific institution has taken the wraps off QiMeng, an AI-powered system designed to accelerate chip design. The new open-source project from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) uses LLMs for “fully automated hardware and software design,” and can be used to design “entire CPUs.” But sample chips, so far, seem rather puny.

QiMeng means ‘enlightenment,’ according to an SCMP report on its unveiling. As of now, two processors have been created using QiMeng: QiMeng-CPU-v1, which is comparable to an Intel 486; and QiMeng-CPU-v2, which is claimed to rival an Arm Cortex A53. At the time of writing, CAS's link to the QiMeng-CPU-v2 project details is broken.

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QiMeng-CPU-v1

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Despite our snark about the first design being i486 (1989) level, there’s a significant advance from v1 to v2 if the newest sample reaches A53 (2012) capabilities. That’s a 23-year leap…

We have previously written about the latest innovations in AI chip design software from Western companies like Cadence and Synopsys. Both these big names in the EDA field have widely adopted AI. Cadence, for example, has delivered multiple AI platforms across the key steps of design and verification. Meanwhile, we know that Synopsys DSO.ai has assisted with over 200 taped-out chip designs, at the latest count.

However, the appeal of QiMeng, at least as far as we can tell from this early PR, is that it could be a bold industry disruptor with wider applications. The SCMP notes that this open-source effort has three key interconnected layers melding LLM chip design smarts, a hardware and software design agent, and various chip design apps. During tests, it is claimed that QiMeng can do in days what takes human teams weeks to achieve.

US sanctions force China innovation, again

QiMeng has come into view in the shadow of U.S. pressure on technology sanctions in general. However, it seems even more timely in the context of the more recent moves by the US Commerce Department with regard to export controls on software. Earlier this month, we reported that China tech giants like Lenovo and Xiaomi were reeling after Washington cracked down on software license availability from the likes of Cadence and Synopsys.

As noted by the CAS researchers, China must react, as chip design tech is “a strategically vital industry.” We await QiMeng-CPU-v3 with great interest, but aren’t expecting another 23-year leap in the technology stakes – that would be 2035 technology.

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