In her inauguration speech on May 20th, 2020, President Ing-wen Tsai declared information and digital industries as one of Taiwan’s six core strategic industries, promising that the government would take advantage of Taiwan's strengths in both the semiconductor and information and communication technology (ICT) industries to promote the development of the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI). Governed by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute (TSRI), National Applied Research Laboratories,[i] is the hub of semiconductor research in Taiwan. In accordance with MOST policies, TSRI supports academic research and development of AI chips in Taiwan, helps university spin-off and cultivate necessary talent. On November 24th, 2020, TSRI signed a contract for Arm® Flexible Access for Research[ii] with Arm, the leading company in semiconductor intellectual property (IP). This makes TSRI the first institution in Asia and the world’s first government-endowed academic institution to join the Flexible Access for Research program.
AI has been ubiquitous for a while now and is moving from the cloud to the edge. Cloud AI computing is done by connected supercomputers, while edge AI computing is done by the AI chip, which can be disconnected. With the aid of AI chips with high privacy protection and real-time response features, on-device AI applications such as smart voice assistant, smart medical diagnosis, and facial recognition can be realized.
However, AI chip design is extremely complex. AI applications can be run with various AI processors, including the central processing unit (CPU), graphic processing unit (GPU), and neural-network processing unit (NPU) inside the AI chip. Designing these AI processors from scratch requires expertise in multiple domains, such as big data analysis, deep learning algorithm development, hardware integrated circuits (IC) design, implementation, verification and testing. It’s labor-intensive, time-consuming and costly.
Flexible Access is an IP licensing model announced by Arm in July, 2019 that allows SoC (system-on-a-chip) design teams to initiate research before they license the IP and pay only for what they use at production. Arm then announced Flexible Access for Research in 2020, which enables academic research teams to access and tape out with a wide range of IP and tools without any fees or costs. Accessing this real-world, commercially proven IP helps academic research specialists innovate their projects and focus on resolving critical research issues.
Through the partnership with Arm, TSRI introduces AI processor CPU IP, which enables academics to access various AI processors for multiple use cases and thus focus on developing the core of AI chips, namely the AI accelerator circuits. This makes AI chip design easier and reduces the time to tape-out. It also helps research teams in universities to spin-out. It’s possible to use IP introduced from Arm by TSRI for the university startup's product development as long as the startup signs the contract for the similar Flexible Access for Startups program.
Shawn Hsu, Director General of the MOST Department of Engineering and Technologies attended the signing ceremony, stating that Taiwan’s semiconductor industry is an excellent partner in the global supply chain. Taking advantage of Taiwan's strengths in ICT industry, MOST has created an AI innovation ecosystem that engages talent, technologies, venues, and industries, making Taiwan a hub for AI development. The collaboration between TSRI and Arm brings remarkable silicon IPs to Taiwan which are internationally iconic resources for research. This lowers the barrier for Taiwan’s academia to access the latest and highest performance processors and widely used commercial IPs so that the development of AI technologies can be sped up.
Kuang-chong Wu, President of the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs), pointed out that the semiconductor industry is the key driving force of economic growth in Taiwan. To ensure the leading position of the Taiwanese semiconductor industry in the global arena, the government has been actively planning for the cultivation and training of semiconductor talents to effectively support the development of semiconductor technologies. TSRI, in accordance with MOST policies and through partnering with Arm, introduces and provides Arm’s IPs to Taiwan’s universities, which greatly enhances the ability of the researchers to design AI chips and makes university spin-off possible. This also paves a way to enter into the global market.
CK Tseng, President of Arm Taiwan, mentioned that Arm has proactively invested in cloud-to-edge, AI-related IP and software development tools over the last few years, helping its global partners seize new business opportunities in the era of AI. Among the globally government-endowed academic institutions, TSRI is the first academic licensee of the Arm Ethos™-N78 NPU, which is Arm’s latest NPU, offering increased performance and improved efficiency. By signing the contract for Flexible Access for Research, Arm hopes to help the government consolidate resources across industry and academic institutions, working together to develop a heterogeneous computing platform for AI, speeding up the innovation and realization of AI.
Wen-kuan Yeh, Director General of TSRI, said that AI is one of the major directions of the science and technology development in Taiwan. Through this contract with Arm, TSRI aims to tackle the challenges of AI chip design faced by Taiwan’s academia. As a result, the designed AI chip can be more advanced and more practical for industries. In addition to that, talent cultivation for this domain can be more effective.
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[i] Based on the strength of chip design and semiconductor manufacturing, TSRI has provided services to industry, academia, and research institutions and continuously improved them. TSRI provides “from device to circuits to system” one-stop semiconductor service and develops open platform related to semiconductor manufacturing, IC packaging and testing, IC design, silicon IP, and system integration. Taiwan’s research teams from academia or industry can use these shared resources to reduce the technology development time and to avoid the redundant investment in platform development or service providing. TSRI also cultivates high level and high quality talents to accelerate semiconductor research and development in Taiwan
[ii] Arm Flexible Access for Research, recently renamed as Arm Academic Access, offers Taiwanese academia access to a wide range of IP, including CPUs, GPUs, and NPUs, for the design of AI chips, as follows:
1. Flexible Access for research bundle: This includes Arm’s IP required for the development of AI chips. Free access to the IP is provided by Arm for qualifying Taiwanese universities, colleges, schools and TSRI.
2. AI heterogeneous computing bundle: This includes more advanced Arm CPU and NPU IPs, which are provided by Arm for use by Taiwanese universities, colleges, and schools and by TSRI at a preferential price.
