Broadcom's custom ASIC biz adds South Korea's FuriosaAI to its empire

Summary

AI+ML Broadcom's custom ASIC biz adds South Korea's FuriosaAI to its empire Third-gen chips to use Broadzilla's advanced packaging, networking tech Broadcom has added FuriosaAI to its list of partners building AI accelerators atop its chip packaging tech.After years quietly serving as the connective tissue behind many modern processors, Broadcom has emerged from the shadows to bask in the glow of the AI bubble.The silicon slinger's latest tie-up aims to adapt FuriosaAI's Tensor Contraction Processor tech into a multi-die system-on-package designed for the high-volume AI inference workloads that are all the rage these days. Details on the new chip remain thin, but FuriosaAI claims that the processor will be fabbed on a 2nm process and make use of "dual layer" HBM4 or HBM4e memory made possible by Broadcom's advanced packaging tech. We've previously explored Broadcom's Extreme Dimension System in Package (3.5D XDSiP) tech, which aims to simplify the process of bringing complex multi-die accelerators similar to AMD's MI300 series to market.The tech effectively disaggregates core compute, memory, I/O, and low level logic into distinct chiplets and then assembles them using 3D packaging techniques, like hybrid bonding, into a single logical chip.Rather than having to design a full chip from the ground up, the offering allows chip designers to focus on the processor's core logic functions, reducing the time, capital, and risk associated with bringing a new part to market.Along with Broadcom's advanced packaging tech, FuriosaAI's third-gen chips will also make use of its Ethernet and PCIe products to support systems exceeding eight chips — the limit of its current lineup of parts.This implies the use of high-radix Ethernet switches, like Broadcom's Tomahawk 6 (TH6), for either conventional scale out networks or dense scale up networks. While scale up networks have been dominated by proprietary interconnects, like NVLink, Ethernet is gaining traction as an alternative. In f...