Gift supports new initiative between industry and academia to rethink how next-generation computing systems and systems-on-chips are designed
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As artificial intelligence transforms industries around the world, researchers are increasingly – and recursively – turning to AI to help solve a challenge at the heart of the technology itself: How to design the powerful, energy-efficient computing systems and systems-on-chips (SOCs) needed to support it.
In an effort to address this challenge, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. is building on decades of collaboration with the University of California San Diego by providing a $500,000 gift to its Halıcıoğlu School of Data Science and Computing. The gift will advance research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and microelectronics through the launch of the AI in Microelectronic Systems (AIMS) initiative, a new collaboration between Qualcomm Technologies researchers and UC San Diego faculty.
The AIMS initiative will investigate methods to improve the design of SOCs — integrated circuits that combine multiple computing components into a single device — as well as the hyperscalar computing architectures that are increasingly central to everything from mobile devices and autonomous systems to cloud computing and large-scale AI.
AIMS will bring together several faculty members and researchers from the Halıcıoğlu School and its San Diego Supercomputer Center, combining expertise in machine learning, computer architecture, high-performance computing and semiconductor design. In particular, the researchers will develop AI methods to reduce the exponentially growing expense of chip design, which still primarily relies on manual creation.
“Artificial intelligence is creating extraordinary new demands on computing infrastructure, but it also offers powerful new tools for designing that infrastructure,” said Rajesh K. Gupta, dean of the Halıcıoğlu School. “Through this collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, we have an opportunity to bring together expertise in AI, computing systems and microelectronics to explore fundamentally new approaches to chip design. This investment will help us accelerate discovery while preparing the next generation of researchers and engineers to lead in this rapidly evolving field.”
Applying AI to the Next Generation of Computing
Designing a modern semiconductor chip involves balancing an increasingly complex set of competing demands: Processing speed, energy consumption, memory capacity, communication between components and the ability to handle diverse computing workloads.
As chips become more sophisticated, traditional design and optimization methods face growing challenges. AI and machine learning offer new ways to explore possible architectures, predict performance and identify design choices that might otherwise require extensive simulation and testing.>
Research will span processor design, hardware accelerators, memory systems, interconnects, workload characterization and performance optimization, with particular attention to improving energy efficiency.
The collaboration builds on existing research relationships between Qualcomm Technologies and UC San Diego scientists, including work led by Halıcıoğlu School Professor Yusu Wang on AI-assisted chip design. Meanwhile, researchers led by Associate Dean Jinendra Ranka have established an independent benchmarking infrastructure for AI processors to evaluate their performance and energy efficiency relative to competing technologies – an effort that has already resulted in targeted feedback to the Qualcomm Technologies team.
A Collaborative Research Ecosystem
The $500,000 gift and $250,000 in matching funds from the Halıcıoğlu School draw on the expertise of researchers across the School, including Wang and Ranka, as well as Lily Weng, Mahidhar Tatineni, Martin Kandes, Zhijian Liu and Arya Mazumdar. The contribution from Qualcomm Technologies carries no requirements for research deliverables, services or reporting, allowing UC San Diego to direct the funds toward its research and educational mission.
“UC San Diego has been one of Qualcomm’s most valued academic partners, driving innovation through world-class research, talent, and collaboration,” said Hemanth Sampath, vice president of engineering for Qualcomm Technologies. “As AI transforms how systems and semiconductors are designed and deployed, we are proud to support the AIMS initiative and collaborate with UC San Diego researchers to advance AI-enabled system and semiconductor design and accelerate the next generation of computing innovation.”
Building on a San Diego Legacy of Innovation
The collaboration continues a relationship that has helped shape San Diego’s emergence as a global center for wireless communications, computing and technological innovation.
For decades, UC San Diego has contributed research discoveries and engineering talent to the region’s technology ecosystem, while Qualcomm has played a central role in translating advances in communications and computing into technologies used around the world.
The rise of AI presents a new opportunity for collaboration, particularly as the demand for computing power places growing pressure on the energy efficiency, performance and scalability of hardware systems.
For the Halıcıoğlu School, the initiative also reflects its broader mission to connect foundational advances in data science and computing with real-world challenges and industry partnerships.
“This partnership gives us the opportunity to explore new ideas, strengthen connections between academia and industry, and help shape the future of intelligent computing,” Gupta said.
About the Halıcıoğlu School of Data Science and Computing
The Halıcıoğlu School of Data Science and Computing at UC San Diego brings together researchers, educators and students working across data science, artificial intelligence, computer science, cybersecurity and high-performance computing. Through interdisciplinary research, education and partnerships, the school advances scientific discovery, develops new technologies and prepares the next generation of leaders in a rapidly changing digital world.
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