Abacus Semiconductor and Aalto University launch chiplet interconnect research tie-up

Abacus Semiconductor has partnered with Aalto University’s School of Electrical Engineering on research tied to its Universal High Speed Interconnect chiplet program. The cooperation, supported by Business Finland and Invest in Finland, is part of Abacus Semiconductor’s push to build semiconductor R&D activity in Finland.

Why it matters: - The cooperation links a U.S. chipmaker with one of Finland’s key engineering universities on high-speed interconnect research. - The work is centered on chiplet connectivity, a core bottleneck for scaling high-performance computing and AI systems. - The partnership also supports Abacus Semiconductor’s broader effort to establish semiconductor research and development activity in Finland.

What happened: - Abacus Semiconductor announced a research cooperation with Aalto University’s School of Electrical Engineering on integrated-circuit design connected to the company’s Universal High Speed Interconnect, or UHI, chiplet program. - Business Finland and its Invest in Finland function facilitated the cooperation. - Abacus Semiconductor said the letter of intent is the first formal step in Finnish research cooperation the company has been building since the summer.

The details: - Dr. Axel Kloth, founder and CEO of Abacus Semiconductor, said Aalto’s School of Electrical Engineering has a strong tradition in high-speed and mixed-signal circuit design. - Atilla Karaali, senior director of global business development at Abacus Semiconductor, said Finland has a strong and closely connected community in high-speed integrated-circuit design. - Professor Marko Kosunen of Aalto University said high-speed serial links are a crucial focus area for the department’s microelectronics design work. - Kosunen said Aalto intends to intensify future development around chiplet interconnects such as UHI and the next generations of Ethernet at 800 Gbit/s and beyond. - Kosunen said Abacus Semiconductor brings a concrete design target on the mixed-signal and analog side. - Jöns Tuomaranta, senior advisor at Invest in Finland, said energy-efficient and low-power computing, together with high-speed interconnect design, sits at the heart of Finland’s strengths. - Tuomaranta said Invest in Finland will continue to support Abacus Semiconductor as the company evaluates building a semiconductor R&D presence in Finland. - Abacus Semiconductor is a fabless semiconductor company headquartered in California. - The company also has a European entity, Abacus Semiconductor GmbH, in Kiel, Germany. - Abacus Semiconductor describes its patent-pending Heterogeneous Accelerated Compute architecture as an energy-efficient approach to scaling processors, accelerators and memory for high-performance computing and AI workloads. - The company says the UHI chiplet is its first standalone product and is essential to the HAC architecture. - Abacus Semiconductor included more information on its website. - Aalto University is based in Espoo, Greater Helsinki, Finland. - Aalto says its community includes 16,000 students, 5,200 employees and 446 professors. - Invest in Finland is part of Business Finland. - Invest in Finland says its mission includes helping foreign companies identify business opportunities in Finland and coordinating national efforts to attract investment. - Invest in Finland lists more information on its website.

Between the lines: - The announcement signals a practical industry-academia match: Abacus Semiconductor gets access to Finnish research expertise, while Aalto researchers get a real design target in mixed-signal and analog chip work. - The partnership also fits Finland’s pitch as a hub for energy-efficient computing and high-speed integrated-circuit design. - The involvement of Business Finland suggests the cooperation is part of a broader effort to draw semiconductor R&D activity into the country.

What's next: - Abacus Semiconductor will continue evaluating whether to build a semiconductor R&D presence in Finland. - The companies are expected to move from the letter of intent into deeper research cooperation around UHI-related chiplet interconnect design. - Invest in Finland said it will keep supporting Abacus Semiconductor during that evaluation.

The bottom line: - The deal gives Abacus Semiconductor a research foothold in Finland while giving Aalto University a direct industrial partner for next-generation interconnect work.