WHAT’S NEW: Synopsys, in collaboration with AMD, has been selected for the World Economic Forum’s MINDS (Meaningful, Intelligent, Novel, Deployable Solutions) AI program. This recognition places both companies among a distinguished global group of pioneers advancing artificial intelligence solutions that are not only technically advanced but also deployed with measurable real-world impact.

The MINDS awards and program, part of the World Economic Forum’s AI Global Alliance initiative, identifies organizations that are leading the way in applying AI to complex, high-stakes challenges. Synopsys and AMD were specifically recognized for their work applying reinforcement learning, generative AI, and agentic AI to semiconductor chip design—a domain where innovation, speed, and precision are critical.

WHY IT MATTERS: Infusing AI into chip design is no longer optional. Rising architectural complexity, aggressive performance targets, and a mounting workforce gap have pushed traditional engineering workflows to their limits.

AI-powered design flows address these pressures by amplifying expert knowledge and decision making rather than replacing them. Agentic and learning-based systems help engineers navigate massive design spaces faster, prioritize tradeoffs more effectively, and catch issues earlier—when they are less costly to fix. The result is shorter development cycles, higher quality silicon, and a more resilient innovation pipeline. As time-to-market pressures intensify and demand for advanced chips continues to grow, these workflows represent a critical path forward for the semiconductor industry.

The selection of Synopsys and AMD for the MINDS awards underscores the growing importance of AI innovation in the semiconductor industry at a time of unprecedented pressure. By recognizing Synopsys and AMD, the World Economic Forum highlights how agentic and reinforcement learning-based AI can move beyond experimentation into scalable, production-ready workflows—amplifying human expertise and delivering tangible benefits for engineering teams and the broader technology ecosystem.

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVES: 
“From reinforcement learning to copilot assistance, Synopsys AI capabilities are reducing semiconductor design time and increasing productivity for engineers at AMD. We are proud of our longstanding partnership with Synopsys and look forward to collaborating with them to usher in the next frontier in chip design with agentic AI,” said Brian Amick, Senior Vice President of Technology & Engineering at AMD.

“Synopsys is a mission-critical R&D partner to the world’s most innovative companies,” said Shankar Krishnamoorthy, Chief Product Development Officer at Synopsys. “It’s an honor to be selected by the World Economic Forum’s MINDS program and be recognized for showcasing transformative, consequential applications of AI for chip design, which is one of the most complex human engineering tasks.”  

A CLOSER LOOK: Synopsys and AMD were selected for their joint work in transforming chip design through AI-powered workflows. As noted by the World Economic Forum in its Proof Over Promise: Insights on Real-World AI Adoption from the 2025 MINDS Organizations, “In semiconductor chip design, where human ingenuity is essential, but talent shortages threaten progress, AMD is harnessing Synopsys’ reinforcement learning and agentic workflows to take on more execution tasks, maximizing the knowledge and time of expert engineers. Their approach has doubled the speed for chip design, expanding the range of viable solutions and reducing time-to-market.”

Through their longstanding partnership, Synopsys and AMD have introduced AI-powered workflows that assist engineers across design, verification, and signoff stages. The results have been transformative and impactful for AMD:

• Productivity across design and verification stages approximately doubled
• Design exploration expanded by 25%, enabling teams to evaluate a broader range of options
• Overall design costs reduced by a factor of five
• Time to signoff reduced by 50%, with fewer late cycle changes
• Faster design cycles contributed to improved reliability and fewer defects

MORE INFORMATION:

• Read the WEF case study to learn more about the MINDS awards and this year’s cohort winners.
• More information about Synopsys’ pioneering AI-powered chip design capabilities can be found online at, https://www.synopsys.com/ai.
• Join us for Synopsys Converge, March 11-12 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, for discussions about the latest AI advancements and trends: https://events.synopsys.com/event/converge2026/home?RefId=blog.
• Follow Synopsys online for updates via our Newsroom, on LinkedIn, and on X.