TLDR: XMOS is integrating generative AI into its development tools to elevate the level of abstraction, aiming to simplify the configuration of its Xcore devices and accelerate customer time-to-market. This initiative leverages the inherent configurability of the Xcore processor, which has shipped over 35 million units.
XMOS, a leading provider of configurable processors, is set to revolutionize its development toolflow by incorporating generative AI-based natural language tools. This strategic move aims to significantly raise the level of abstraction for configuring its Xcore devices, ultimately transforming the customer experience and accelerating product development cycles.
According to XMOS CEO Mark Lippett, “The thesis of XMOS is that we can empower software engineers with off-the-shelf silicon platforms to do things that hardware engineers could only have done, shrinking design cycle times from years down to months.” This vision is now being extended through generative AI, which will allow customers to interact with the Xcore’s hardware properties using natural language prompts.
The Xcore processor, a parallel array of processors known for its hard real-time behavior, has been a cornerstone of XMOS’s offerings for over a decade, with more than 35 million units shipped. While primarily used in audio processor applications, the Xcore is a versatile, general-purpose programmable computing platform capable of handling DSP, AI, and other workloads. Its core capabilities are well-established and validated.
XMOS plans to build a generative layer on top of its existing toolchain, initially focusing on DSP use cases due to the company’s extensive experience in this area. The company will generate its own training data, drawing from approximately 10 years of system-level design work. A demonstration of DSP solutions utilizing this new generative tool is anticipated before the end of 2025.
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This initiative is expected to broaden XMOS’s customer base by enabling more engineers to succeed without requiring extensive support from field application engineers. Lippett emphasized the goal: “How can we not just accelerate that, but also broaden it so that we can engage more customers without wrapping them with field application engineers? Customers want to be able to succeed without having to pick up the phone to us.” This generative SoC concept is a direct outgrowth of the Xcore’s long-standing configurability.
