Revolutionizing Verification With GenAI-Powered Automation – A Paradigm Shift Towards Agentic Workflows

The verification of complex System-on-Chip (SoC) designs is undergoing a significant transformation with the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered automation. Traditional single-run, single-engine algorithms are giving way to data-driven approaches that leverage insights from multiple runs of diverse engines across the entire verification campaign. The Verisium platform exemplifies this shift, optimizing verification workloads, enhancing coverage, and accelerating bug diagnosis. Recent advances in Large Language Models (LLMs) and Large Reasoning Models (LRMs) are further propelling this trend, profoundly impacting the capabilities of automation tools. While individual applications of LLMs can yield substantial productivity gains, the most profound benefits will emerge from integrating multiple GenAI powered tasks into multi-step automated workflows. This vision of an agentic workflow for design and verification represents the future trajectory of the field.

Andy Penrose is a Software Engineering Group Director in the System Verification Group at Cadence. During his 20 years in EDA he has focused on clock tree optimization, SoC pre and post-silicon debug and now Agentic AI for accelerated verification. He holds an MA and a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge.