> The Chisel team showed that two to three student designers can do full system-on-chip designs by abstraction and automation. > One of the things we’re tradin

> The Chisel team showed that two to three student designers can do full system-on-chip designs by abstraction and automation. > One of the things we’re trading off is the ultimate efficiency of the design. If 1 percent of area matters because you’re making millions of parts, then this level of abstraction may not be the right one for you. In our case, we’re not as cost-driven. So, if we give away 10 percent of the area but maximize the capabilities of the smaller design team, that’s the kind of tradeoff that would work for the Defense Department, but it also might work for startups and other smaller players like universities. Presumably, one of their unspoken goals is to more easily enable advanced/secure chips to be designed and made in the USA for the military and kept confidential.