# An Interview with Claire (née 'Clifford') Wolf

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2018-01-08
- Length: 2h 41m
- Episode: 374
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-01-08-an-interview-with-claire-nee-clifford-wolf
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/374-an-interview-with-claire-nee-clifford-wolf/

## Summary

Clifford Wolf, founder of Symbiotic EDA, discusses his creation of the first open-source FPGA toolchain, Yosys, and his work in reverse-engineering bitstreams for Lattice and Xilinx devices. He explains the significance of the open RISC-V instruction set architecture, contrasting it with proprietary models like ARM and x86, and details his development of the PicoRV32 processor. Wolf also highlights the use of formal verification tools, such as RISC-V Formal, to ensure hardware correctness and security, demonstrating how open-source methods can match or exceed commercial verification standards.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-01-08-an-interview-with-claire-nee-clifford-wolf#t=0) Introduction: Clifford Wolf and Symbiotic EDA
- [1:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-01-08-an-interview-with-claire-nee-clifford-wolf#t=84) Early Open Source Projects: Rock Linux and OpenSCAD
- [13:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-01-08-an-interview-with-claire-nee-clifford-wolf#t=826) FPGA Career and Custom Processor Design
- [45:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-01-08-an-interview-with-claire-nee-clifford-wolf#t=2722) Yosys: The Open Source Synthesis Suite
- [1:00:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-01-08-an-interview-with-claire-nee-clifford-wolf#t=3637) Reverse Engineering FPGA Bitstreams (Project IceStorm)
- [1:24:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-01-08-an-interview-with-claire-nee-clifford-wolf#t=5083) RISC-V: The Open Instruction Set Architecture
- [1:38:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-01-08-an-interview-with-claire-nee-clifford-wolf#t=5934) PicoRV32: A Small, High-Speed RISC-V Core
- [1:58:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-01-08-an-interview-with-claire-nee-clifford-wolf#t=7097) Formal Verification and Symbiotic EDA
- [2:27:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-01-08-an-interview-with-claire-nee-clifford-wolf#t=8844) RISC-V Formal: Verifying Processors Against ISA

## Topics

- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Symbiotic EDA (company)
- Yosys (tool)
- Project IceStorm (other)
- RISC-V (chip)
- PicoRV32 (product)
- Lattice (company)
- Xilinx (company)
- OpenSCAD (tool)
- Rock Linux (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [024 - Cars, Servers, and FPGAs!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-07-15-024-cars-servers-and-fpgas) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)
- [Launch of RISC-V Special Project | MIPS vs. RISC-V | RISC-V Impact on ARM](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-02-18-launch-of-risc-v-special-project-mips-vs-risc-v-risc-v-impact-on-arm) (EE Times Current)
- [029 - Old Timey Name Droppin'](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-10-17-029-old-timey-name-droppin) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)
- [274: Swiss Knife of Embedded Systems](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-01-18-274-swiss-knife-of-embedded-systems) (Embedded.fm)
- [87: Make My Own Steel Foundry](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2015-02-04-87-make-my-own-steel-foundry) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

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