Custom AI Chips (Accelerators): IC Design at the Core of the AI Ecosystem

The rise of artificial intelligence — particularly large language models (LLMs) and edge AI applications — has created unprecedented demands on IC design and engineering services.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence’s “AI fuels $24 billion chip design market,” the EDA market supporting IC design is projected to reach USD 23.9 billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 11.8%.

TrendForce further notes that as cloud service providers (CSPs) invest in custom ASICs for AI processing, traditional IC designers are expanding from logic design into packaging/chiplets and system-level performance optimization.

This demonstrates that:

• AI chip design is not merely about increasing transistor count or shrinking nodes — it requires integrating technologies such as 3D packaging, silicon photonics (SiPh), high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and architectures optimized for inference and training.

• AI-enhanced EDA tools boost productivity, shorten design cycles, and improve PPA — making them key competitive assets for AI chip development.

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• Designing AI chips (often custom ASICs or accelerators) demands explicit contract terms covering IP rights, packaging responsibilities, and design confidentiality due to high complexity and costs.

• Engineers and design service providers should continuously update their expertise in AI-driven EDA tools, packaging, and chiplet technologies.

Given the strategic importance of this sector, both enterprises and governments should develop clear roadmaps for AI-oriented IC design ecosystems — not merely focus on chip manufacturing.

AI IC design and AI-powered EDA tools form a mutually reinforcing cycle: the more AI chips are designed, the better tools become — and the more skilled designers are needed. This is one of the most strategic domains for design companies and advisory organizations to focus on in the coming years.

Sources:

1. “AI fuels $24 billion chip design market,” Bloomberg Intelligence, Feb 4 2025.

2. “CSPs’ ASIC Push Sparks Competition Among IC Designers, Margins Under Pressure,” TrendForce, Nov 3 2025.

3. “NVIDIA Unveils Future AI Accelerators Design featuring Silicon Photonics,” TrendForce, Dec 11 2024.