# Accessible ASICs with Andreas Olofsson

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2023-11-13
- Length: 1h 03m
- Episode: 650
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-11-13-accessible-asics-with-andreas-olofsson
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/650-accessible-asics-with-andreas-olofsson/

## Summary

Andreas Olofsson, CEO of ZeroASIC, discusses his journey from founding Parallela and working at DARPA to launching ZeroASIC, a company that builds custom ASICs using chiplets. He explains how the high cost of traditional tape-outs and IP licensing creates barriers for mid-sized companies, and how ZeroASIC’s platform allows users to drag-and-drop pre-designed chiplets (including RISC-V CPUs, FPGAs, and ML accelerators) to create a functional device in weeks rather than months. The episode highlights ZeroASIC’s e-fabric interposer technology and their cloud-based emulation service that lets customers test their custom silicon designs on AWS FPGAs before manufacturing.

## Chapters

- [0:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-11-13-accessible-asics-with-andreas-olofsson#t=9) Introduction and Parallela History
- [15:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-11-13-accessible-asics-with-andreas-olofsson#t=942) DARPA and Reducing Silicon Barriers
- [23:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-11-13-accessible-asics-with-andreas-olofsson#t=1415) The Chiplet Paradigm and Interconnects
- [36:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-11-13-accessible-asics-with-andreas-olofsson#t=2214) ZeroASIC Platform and e-Fabric
- [52:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2023-11-13-accessible-asics-with-andreas-olofsson#t=3133) Cloud Emulation and Live Demo

## Topics

- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- ZeroASIC (company)
- Parallela (product)
- DARPA (company)
- RISC-V (chip)
- AWS (company)
- Silicon Compiler (tool)
- OpenROAD (tool)
- ARM (company)
- NVIDIA (company)
- TSMC (company)
- ASML (company)
- Raspberry Pi (company)
- Intel (company)
- UC San Diego (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [454: Printf Hello](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2023-07-06-454-printf-hello) (Embedded.fm)
- [322: Learn Assembly Code](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2020-02-28-322-learn-assembly-code) (Embedded.fm)
- [EP 123: Marvell ASIC TAM, ASIC Challenges Remain, More Semi 2.0](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-circuit/2025-06-23-ep-123-marvell-asic-tam-asic-challenges-remain-more-semi-2-0) (The Circuit)
- [Risking RISC-V | Engineers & the Gig Economy | Chiplets](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-06-14-risking-risc-v-engineers-the-gig-economy-chiplets) (EE Times Current)
- [The Spark Gap - Episode 29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-spark-gap/2015-03-25-the-spark-gap-episode-29) (The Spark Gap)

## Citing this page

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