AI-native IC design platform

From spec to silicon, orchestrated by AI.

Kilby Semi unifies all nine phases of chip design — from a natural-language spec to tapeout-ready GDSII. AI is applied surgically, only where it beats deterministic methods; foundry-proven tools run everything physics demands.

9 phasesspec → GDSII IEEE 1800 / 1801SystemVerilog · SDC · UPF Open EDA stackYosys · OpenROAD · OpenSTA
~/kilby · run uart_16550
9
automated phases, end-to-end
>98%
stuck-at fault coverage target
>95%
functional coverage gate
100%
artifacts versioned & hash-traced

The pipeline

Nine phases, one orchestrator.

Every phase is idempotent and gated — no stage proceeds until its validation passes. Select a phase to inspect its purpose, artifacts, and gate.

AI strategy

AI where it wins. Determinism where it must.

Kilby refuses the all-AI trap. Generation and interpretation lean on models; mathematical correctness and physical accuracy stay with proven engines.

Powered by AI
Interpret · generate · explore
Where judgment and search outperform fixed algorithms.
  • Spec interpretation & feasibility
  • Architecture suggestion
  • RTL generation
  • Verification planning
  • Coverage-driven test generation
  • Bug triage & timing-closure assist
Deterministic engines
Synthesize · place · sign off
Where the answer must be provably, physically correct.
  • Logic synthesis
  • Physical design & routing
  • DRC / LVS signoff
  • Static timing analysis
  • ATPG & formal verification
  • GDSII generation
The rule

If the task needs mathematical correctness or physical accuracy, it's deterministic. If it needs interpretation, generation, or exploration, it's AI.

Platform

Engineered like the silicon it ships.

Spec-to-silicon orchestration

One orchestrator drives all nine phases. Hand it a spec; it manages the path to a tapeout-ready final.gds.

Mandatory validation gates

No phase advances until its gate passes — lint, timing, coverage, DRC, LVS. Silicon has no undo.

Versioned, hash-traced artifacts

Every output is tagged with a SHA-256 and lineage. Reproducible, auditable, drift-detectable by construction.

First-class iteration

A timing miss in physical design re-spins synthesis automatically. Closed-loop feedback, not a one-shot pass.

Tool-agnostic interfaces

Standard formats — Verilog, SDC, DEF, GDSII, JSON — not proprietary APIs. Swap engines without rewrites.

Idempotent & structured

Same inputs, same outputs. Structured JSON logging throughout — every decision is inspectable, never a print().

Why Kilby Semi

Industry-standard always.
No proprietary shortcuts.

01

Foundry-proven, zero-compromise

Built around IEEE, UVM, SDC, UPF and GDSII — the formats foundries and signoff flows already trust.

02

AI applied surgically

Models accelerate the open-ended work; they never sit on the critical path of physical correctness.

03

Every gate is mandatory

Verification before done — lint, simulate, check logs. Correctness is proven, not assumed.

04

Root-cause discipline

No temporary patches. The platform finds the source of a failure and re-spins the right phase.

“Silicon has no undo. So every phase verifies before it commits, and every artifact can be traced back to the spec that demanded it.”

// Kilby Semi engineering principle

On the roadmap

The next frontier:
quantum chip design.

The same disciplined, gated orchestration that takes a classical spec to GDSII extends naturally beyond CMOS. Kilby Semi is building toward quantum processor design — applying spec-driven planning, modeling, and signoff to qubit systems.

Today

Classical IC / ASIC

Full spec-to-silicon flow across nine phases, in production.

Next

Quantum-classical co-design

Control electronics and readout co-designed alongside the quantum layer.

Horizon

Native qubit layout

Spec-driven planning & signoff for superconducting and spin-qubit devices.

Ecosystem

Standards-native. Tool-agnostic.

Open EDA engines // integrated

Deterministic phases run on a proven open-source signoff stack.

Verilator Icarus Verilog Yosys OpenSTA SymbiYosys OpenROAD KLayout

Standards & formats // native

Inputs and outputs every foundry flow already understands.

SystemVerilog · IEEE 1800 SDC UPF · IEEE 1801 UVM DEF GDSII STIL / WGL

Get started

Compress your path from spec to tapeout.

See Kilby Semi run a real design end-to-end — from natural-language spec to signed-off GDSII.