One-stop-shopping for cores and peripherals
Codasip and SmartDV recently announced joining forces to simplify and accelerate custom processor design by offering our customers the possibility to license Codasip RISC-V IP and the necessary peripheral IP from SmartDV under a single contract. To better understand this promising collaboration, we asked Erik Panu, SmartDV, and Mike Eftimakis, Codasip, to tell us more about it.
Mike, why did Codasip need a partner for peripheral IP?
Codasip’s customizable RISC-V processors are a really powerful way to benefit from custom compute. But even award winning processors need to be able to talk to other hardware using industry leading peripherals… Our customers need a set of peripherals. Our focus at Codasip is on the processor IP and its customization. Custom compute really is our thing, that’s where we make a difference. Rather than reinventing the wheel and designing our own peripherals, it was natural and logical for us to collaborate with SmartDV – an industry leader with the largest portfolio of peripheral IP. We strongly believe in the power of an ecosystem and want to help our customers get what they need to be successful, faster.
By partnering with SmartDV, we are making our customers’ lives easier. Together with SmartDV we are giving them easy access to standard peripherals to connect to our customizable cores.
Erik, can you tell us about SmartDV expertise and the technology you are bringing?
Happy to do so! SmartDV brings a long, successful company history of creating IP on the foundation of expert knowledge of a broad range of evolving industry standards and protocols. Using this deep understanding and leveraging similarities across standards, our team creates IP cores—including peripherals—using proprietary SmartCompiler™ automation technology. The resulting IP addresses the custom compute customer’s need to connect to other hardware, as Mike said. It also allows SmartDV to keep pace with rapidly changing standards and provide products that help the customer advance quickly with fast, easy integration.
Finally, we at SmartDV know a best-in-class environment when we see one: our company and products have always been built to work with and support superior tool environments and IP, exactly like Codasip’s offerings.
Erik, what will SmartDV make available to customers?
SmartDV will provide a selection of affordable peripheral IP to Codasip to offer to its customers under a single license agreement. This IP includes frequently required interfaces—cores such as UART, I2C, I2S, SPI, QSPI, etc.—as well as system elements like interconnect, bridges, and DMA. Grouping multiple IP products in the same contract will simplify and speed up the purchase process for customers. Additionally, SmartDV will provide close, joint marketing and backend technical support to Codasip—we are in this together!
Mike, why is this important to Codasip customers?
Our customers will benefit from SmartDV’s trusted and proven portfolio of peripheral IPs. They won’t have to worry about having multiple discussions with a number of companies to get all the pieces of the puzzle. With more and more complex SoCs requiring an increasing number of IP blocks, it is an essential way to save time and simplify processes.
The focus is on unlocking use cases and giving our customers what they need. This partnership complements our portfolio of IP and processor design automation tools.
If I am interested, how do I proceed?
Mike: Just contact Codasip through our website to get in touch with our regional sales team and discuss your project. Alternatively, you can come and talk to us at DAC 2023 in July.
Erik: We’ll be at DAC in San Francisco, too, with our exhibit located only steps away from Codasip’s booth. We hope you’ll stop by to see us, meet some of the SmartDV team, and learn more about what we mean when we say “IP Your Way.”
