Apple Inc. is reportedly exploring the use of artificial intelligence to accelerate the design process of its custom chips, which power a wide range of its devices.
According to Reuters, during a speech at the ITF World Conference in Belgium last month, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware technologies, Johny Srouji, emphasized the importance of adopting cutting-edge tools in chip design. “EDA (electronic design automation) companies are super critical in supporting our chip design complexities,” he said. “Generative AI techniques have a high potential in getting more design work in less time, and it can be a huge productivity boost.”
The report also highlighted that leading EDA firms like Cadence Design Systems and Synopsys are actively working to integrate AI capabilities into their platforms.
Srouji’s talk traced Apple’s evolution in chip development—from its early iPhone processors to the advanced chips now used in Mac computers and the Vision Pro augmented reality headset.
Apple is already leveraging AI in its operations.
Srouji’s remarks imply that Apple is looking to adopt AI to accelerate chip design for the first time. However, according to AppleInsider, the company has actually been utilizing AI in various aspects of its design process for several years.
Third-party companies are harnessing AI to enhance their capabilities
According to AppleInsider, Apple has long depended on third-party EDA companies that already incorporate AI and machine learning into the chip design process. The report also noted that Synopsys believes generative AI could unlock new approaches to chip design—an area crucial to Apple’s operations.
Microsoft announces job cuts
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that Microsoft is planning to lay off thousands of employees, primarily in its sales division, as part of a broader effort to streamline its workforce while ramping up investments in artificial intelligence.
The tech giant is intensifying its focus on AI to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving industry, where AI is increasingly being integrated into products and services.
In a related development, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated this week that the adoption of generative and agentic AI is expected to reduce the company’s overall corporate workforce over the coming years.
