Episodes

Oct. 7, 2026

Beyond PPA: How Foundation IP Enables Predictable Execution and Lower TCO for AI-Era SoCs

As AI-driven SoCs move to advanced process nodes, design complexity, development cost, and execution risk are rising sharply. In this episode, Synopsys Executive Director of Product Management Ravi Todi explains why competitive power, performance, and area (PPA) are no longer sufficient on their own. Success in the AI era also depends on predictable execution and disciplined management of total cost of ownership (TCO) across the full SoC lifecycle. The discussion highlights how a holistic, sili...
Sept. 25, 2026

Can Disaggregated Memory Reshape AI Inference?

In this podcast, EE Times' Sally Ward-Foxton talks to Majestic Labs’ Sha Rabii about why AI's shift toward inference, long context, and agentic workloads could require a fundamentally different compute-memory architecture.
Sept. 18, 2026

Why Computing With Time Gives Neuromorphic AI an Edge

In this month's Brains and Machines, Dr. Ryad Benosman discusses event-based vision, retinal prosthetics, and neuromorphic startups with Dr. Sunny Bains of University College London. A co-founder of Prophesee, he explains why he believes AI's future must come from neuromorphic engineering. Discussion follows with Dr. Giulia D’Angelo from the Czech Technical University in Prague and Professor Ralph Etienne-Cummings of Johns Hopkins University.
Sept. 4, 2026

Where Software Meets Silicon: A Digital Twin Playbook

As systems become more software-defined, the traditional development model of waiting for hardware before serious software validation begins is no longer sustainable. Software teams need platforms earlier. Hardware teams need realistic workloads sooner. Verification teams need better ways to expose system-level issues before tapeout. We will look at how digital twins are becoming the shared foundation for this new HW/SW co-development model. Using virtual platforms, hardware emulation, and FPGA ...
Aug. 26, 2026

Trust at Scale: The Next Challenge for AI-Driven Semiconductor Development

Artificial intelligence is accelerating semiconductor development, but more compute, more automation, and more engineering data do not automatically create better decisions. As design and manufacturing workflows become increasingly AI-enabled, a new constraint is emerging: trust. In this episode, Dr. Jim Shiely builds on themes from his Patterning the Singularity leadership work to explore the semiconductor industry’s “trust bottleneck” and why trustworthy engineering intelligence is becoming es...
Aug. 25, 2026

Do Spikes Need Common Language for Sensing and Learning?

On this month's episode of Brains and Machines, five engineers debate neuromorphic sensing and learning. Recorded at the Neuromorphic Hardware and Algorithms conference at the University of Sussex, the panel explores whether events and spikes are the right framework for integrating sensor modalities, motor control, and learning across systems. They also examine commercial directions and revisit the perennial question: what is neuromorphic engineering? The panelists are: Dr. Chiara Bartolozzi (...
Aug. 21, 2026

Designing the AI Factory from the Rack Up

For years, AI infrastructure was measured at the scale of the data center. That's changed. In this episode, Neeraj Paliwal explains why the rack has become the indivisible unit of a modern AI system — designed as one system rather than a collection of servers — and why performance is no longer defined by the compute in any single box, but by how efficiently data moves, is stored, and is secured across the entire rack. And getting there depends on co-designing the silicon, memory, interconnect, ...
Aug. 7, 2026

Beyond Automation: Self-Verifying AI Agents for Semiconductor and PCB Design

As AI agents grow more capable, the question of trust becomes increasingly critical, especially in complex engineering environments like semiconductor and PCB design. Siemens EDA and NVIDIA are tackling that challenge head-on, combining deep EDA domain expertise with cutting-edge AI infrastructure to deliver a new generation of agentic AI capabilities for engineering teams. In this episode, we sit down with Amit Gupta, Chief AI Strategy Officer at Siemens EDA, and Tim Costa, VP and GM of Indust...
July 22, 2026

Can Great Sky’s Light-Connected AI Enable Bigger Brains?

In this month’s Brains and Machines podcast, Dr. Jeff Shainline talks  about superconducting neural hardware with Dr. Sunny Bains of University College London. Currently in development at Great Sky in Boulder, Colorado, the new systems will incorporate photonic interconnects and a neuromorphic approach to intelligence. Discussion follows with Dr. Giulia D’Angelo from the Czech Technical University in Prague and Professor Ralph Etienne-Cummings of Johns Hopkins University.
June 26, 2026

Under the Hood of Intelligent Systems

Some of the most critical semiconductor innovation today sits beneath intelligent systems, where data moves, connects, and scales. As architectures become more distributed, sensor-rich, and AI-driven, challenges in bandwidth, latency, power, and interoperability intensify. In this episode, we unpack the interface technologies driving this evolution: from automotive SerDes to advanced imaging and next-gen connectivity.
June 7, 2026

Will Photonics Loosen the Bottlenecks in Neural Systems?

In this latest episode of Brains and Machines, Dr. Patty Stabile of the Eindhoven University of Technology chats with us about  her optical neural networks with ultra-low-latency processing, and the semiconductor optical amplifiers that make them possible. Discussion follows with Dr. Giulia D’Angelo from the Czech Technical University in Prague and Professor Ralph Etienne-Cummings of Johns Hopkins University.
June 5, 2026

When AI Gets a Body: Physical AI, Humanoids and the Future of Silicon

In this episode of EE Times Current, we’ll dive into Physical AI — from humanoids and embodied agents to the chips, sensors, and systems that let machines see, move, and interact with us. Guiding us through this future of silicon is our host, Hezi Saar, Executive Director of Product Marketing at Synopsys. Hezi brings a front-row view of the semiconductor and AI landscape — and the people building it.
May 8, 2026

Zonal Power: 48V Architectures for the Software Defined Vehicle

With advanced safety features, sophisticated sensors, and personalized temperature controls, software-defined vehicles require more power than ever before. Traditional automotive power systems simply can’t keep up with the demand. As the industry moves toward the adoption of 48-volt technology, a zonal architecture will play a critical role in this transition. This podcast covers why auto industry is undergoing a big E/E transition and the zonal architecture fundamentals, covering 48V power arch...
April 23, 2026

Fixing AI’s Bottlenecks: Memory, Scale, and Sparsity

This latest episode of Brains and Machines features a panel discussion on neuromorphic engineering and physical computing held at the Atoms to Bits: The AlphaBet of Intelligence v2.0 conference at the University of Manchester, held in February 2026. The panelists were Dr. Damien Querlioz, Dr. Julian Büchel, Professor Tamalika Banerjee, Dr. Maxence Ernoult, and Professor Steve Furber, and the session was chaired by Dr. Sunny Bains of University College London. Discussion follows with Dr. Giulia D...
March 16, 2026

Can the Nvidia Monopoly on AI Chips Be Broken?

In the latest episode of Brains and Machines, Sally Ward-Foxton of EE Times talks to Dr. Sunny Bains of the University College London. They discuss the importance of power in all AI systems, the benefit of having dedicated inference chips, and where neuromorphic fits into the market. Discussion follows with Dr. Giulia D’Angelo from the Czech Technical University in Prague and Professor Ralph Etienne-Cummings of Johns Hopkins University.
March 6, 2026

Automated Multiphysics for 3D IC Success

Challenges: power generates heat. Heat distorts wires and changes transistor behavior. A change in wires and transistors implies that initial power estimates were wrong. More and more designers are moving to heterogeneous architectures. This comes with new challenges as compared to the 2D domain. Come learn how the Calibre team can help achieve successful 3D IC design goals.
Feb. 6, 2026

Neuromorphic Spikes Unify Control and Decision Making

In this latest episode of Brains and Machines, Professor Rodolphe Sepulchre, a control theorist from the University of Cambridge, talks to Dr. Sunny Bains of University College London. They discuss the inspiration he took from studying biological neurons, why both discrete and continuous behaviors are inherent to how they work, and why building neurons is often easier than simulating them.
Jan. 14, 2026

Chips at the Edge: Innovation for AI at Edge and Automotive

Today, we’re diving into the fascinating world of edge AI, exploring its rapid evolution and its transformative impact on industries like automotive. With advancements in model efficiency and hardware capabilities, edge AI is reshaping design requirements for devices, particularly in balancing the critical factors of power, performance, and cost. Let’s set the stage and delve into how these trends are driving innovation at the edge.
Jan. 7, 2026

Green Always-On Sensing with Neuronova’s Sub-μwatt Chip?

Neuronova is an analog neuromorphic startup based in Milan, Italy. In this episode of Brains and Machines, the CEO and CTO talk to Dr. Sunny Bains of University College London about their inference processor that idles at less than 10 nanowatts and what they hope to do with it. Discussion follows with Dr. Giulia D’Angelo from the Czech Technical University in Prague and Professor Ralph Etienne-Cummings of Johns Hopkins University.
Dec. 5, 2025

An Architecture for Building Brains from Top to Bottom?

Professor Chris Eliasmith is a computer scientist and philosopher who’s been modelling cognitive systems for almost three decades. In this episode of Brains and Machines, he talks to Dr. Sunny Bains of University College London about his neural engineering framework and the semantic pointer architecture his team have developed to implement it. Discussion follows with Dr. Giulia D’Angelo from the Czech Technical University in Prague and Professor Ralph Etienne-Cummings of Johns Hopkins University...
Nov. 12, 2025

Tracking & Locationing Technologies from Renesas

Dive into the evolving world of asset tracking and locationing with Renesas! Explore what ‘locationing’ really means in the evolving space of asset management, how to leverage the various cutting-edge Renesas locationing technologies to gain visibility and control over your assets, and how Renesas as a field-proven leader within this technology space can empower you and your customers to move from simple tracking to intelligent, real-time locationing.
Nov. 7, 2025

The State of Multi-Die: Insights and Customer Requirements

In this episode, we look at the changing landscape of multi-die design, highlighting how the industry is addressing current challenges and opportunities. We share customer perspectives on essential requirements, including design considerations, scalability, performance and integration, while outlining the current state of multi-die design and the elements shaping future developments. Discover how companies are responding to these demands and gain insights into the future of multi-die design.
Nov. 6, 2025

Artificial Hearing: From Ear Drums to Tuning Forks

Dr. Claudia Lenk’s group creates brain-inspired hearing systems with micromechanical hair cells. In this episode of Brains and Machines, she talks to Dr. Sunny Bains of University College London about the advantages of the approach and how it could be applied to speech processing in AI. Discussion follows with Dr. Giulia D’Angelo from the Czech Technical University in Prague and Professor Ralph Etienne-Cummings of Johns Hopkins University.
Oct. 22, 2025

Calibre Directions in Artificial Intelligence

In this episode, we’ll explore Siemens EDA’s innovative approach to AI and dive into Calibre-specific topics. We’ll discuss when to use Calibre, when it might not be the best fit, and how to leverage it to maximize productivity and designer effectiveness—all without compromising on quality. AI is everywhere these days, from space exploration to dating apps, and Siemens has been a pioneer in this space, investing in AI long before it became a trend. So, let’s dive in and explore how Siemens EDA ...