Synopsys and Amazon Ink $1B+ Deal for Custom Cloud Chips

Synopsys and Amazon have signed a multi-year agreement for custom chips used in Amazon's cloud computing business, worth more than $1 billion. This deal expands Amazon's use of Synopsys' chip-design technology and related software, which the companies have been working together on for over 15 years.

Amazon has developed its own chips for various applications, including Graviton and Trainium processors, and under this new agreement, it will also use Synopsys' application-specific chip technology. The two companies plan to collaborate on using artificial intelligence in the design and testing process of chips and computer systems.

Synopsys will utilize Amazon's cloud computing services to develop its own chip-design products and leverage Amazon Bedrock for building AI applications. This partnership highlights the growing importance of custom silicon in cloud computing, with Synopsys' CEO, Sassine Ghazi, stating that 'special purpose silicon is at the heart of AWS innovation.'

Peter DeSantis, SVP at Amazon, noted that investing in custom silicon has fundamentally changed what's possible for AWS and its customers. He believes that using AI to reshape the engineering process will help deliver more capable and efficient computing for customers worldwide.