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Design services
Not every requirement maps onto a catalogue part. Our engineering team takes on custom development, integration and the awkward work in between — with the same verification discipline we apply to our own IP.
What we take on
Most engagements start as one of the five below. All of them are fixed-scope with defined deliverables and acceptance criteria — we do not sell open-ended engineering time.
Algorithm to RTL
You have a MATLAB or Python model that meets the specification in floating point. We take it to fixed point with a characterised noise budget, produce an architecture that meets your throughput and area targets, and deliver verified RTL with a reference model that matches it bit for bit.
Typical duration: 8–20 weeks.
Custom IP development
A core built to your specification, delivered with the same package as a catalogue part. You can hold exclusive rights to the result, or take a discount in exchange for us adding a generalised version to the portfolio — the choice is agreed before work starts, not after.
Typical duration: 12–36 weeks.
Verification services
A UVM environment for a block you already have, built to close a coverage model you agree to up front. Also available as a formal property set for control-heavy blocks where simulation coverage does not give useful confidence.
Typical duration: 6–16 weeks.
SoC and FPGA integration
Putting the pieces together: clocking and reset architecture, clock-domain crossing review, AXI interconnect topology, timing closure and the board bring-up that follows. Frequently the difference between a design that simulates and a design that ships.
Typical duration: 6–24 weeks.
Design rescue
A block that fails at low SNR and nobody can say why. A link that works on the bench and fails in the field. Timing that will not close two months before tape-out. We take these on as a bounded diagnostic engagement: two to four weeks to characterise the problem and produce a written root-cause analysis with options, before anyone commits to a fix. Roughly a third of these end with us telling you the fix is straightforward and you should do it yourselves — that is a legitimate outcome and we say so.
Typical duration: 2–4 weeks diagnostic, fix scoped separately.
How a custom engagement runs
The same sequence every time. The point of the early stages is to make the expensive stages predictable.
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Technical discussion — no charge
An engineer, not a salesperson. We establish what the requirement actually is, whether a catalogue core covers it, and whether the specification is internally consistent. This conversation regularly ends with "you do not need custom work", which is a useful outcome for both sides.
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Feasibility study — 2 to 4 weeks, fixed price
A written architecture proposal with a resource estimate, a latency and throughput analysis, an identified risk list and a fixed-price quotation for the implementation. The study is yours regardless of whether you proceed, and if you do proceed its cost is credited against the project.
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Specification freeze
A signed document defining interfaces, performance targets, deliverables and the acceptance criteria — the specific tests whose passing means the work is complete. Nothing else counts as acceptance. Changes after this point go through a written change request with a schedule and cost impact.
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Model and architecture
Bit-accurate reference model first, RTL second. Building the model first means fixed-point decisions are validated against the performance requirement before any hardware is written, which is where most schedule overruns in this kind of work originate.
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Implementation and verification
RTL developed against the model with the verification environment built in parallel by a different engineer. Fortnightly progress reports with the current coverage number and regression status — not a status colour.
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Acceptance and handover
The agreed acceptance tests run on your infrastructure, not just ours. Handover includes a design review walkthrough with your engineers, so the knowledge transfers with the code rather than staying with us.
Who owns the result
Ambiguity about IP ownership causes more commercial friction than any other term in this business. Ours is settled in writing before work starts, and it is one of three options.
- Full assignment You own the delivered work outright, including the right to modify and sublicense. We retain rights only to pre-existing background IP, which is listed by name in the contract before work begins.
- Exclusive licence You get an exclusive, perpetual licence in a defined field of use. We may license the same work outside that field. Lower cost than full assignment, and usually sufficient.
- Co-development You fund part of the development in exchange for a reduced rate and a defined lead-time advantage; a generalised version later joins the catalogue. The exclusivity period is agreed in advance.
Start with the technical discussion.
It costs nothing and it is with an engineer. Bring the specification, the constraint that worries you most, and the schedule you are working to.