The State of Semiconductor Innovation: Insights from 1,000 Design Starts | an Arteris Report

Semiconductor innovation has transformed how the world computes. Over the past two decades, the industry has advanced through successive waves of smartphones, automotive electronics and AI infrastructure, each bringing greater demands for processing power, efficient data movement, and sophisticated system architecture. Today, designing competitive silicon increasingly means architecting complete computing systems, where performance, power efficiency, safety and security depend on how effectively the components work together.

In 2026, Arteris reached a milestone of 1,000 confirmed silicon design starts, providing a distinctive perspective on this evolution. The data reveals a significant shift toward compute-intensive markets, rapidly increasing architectural complexity, and the growing importance of interconnect and system-level design. It also reflects enduring customer relationships, with repeat customers returning to Arteris System IP across successive silicon designs.

Drawing on nearly two decades of customer design activity, engineering expertise, and independent industry research, the report identifies eight key trends reshaping semiconductor architecture and explores the challenges and opportunities ahead.

Download the report to discover:

• How enterprise computing and AI-related designs have grown dramatically within the Arteris design-start portfolio, reflecting changing demands across semiconductor markets.
• Why rising system complexity is making data movement, connectivity, and interconnect architecture increasingly important to overall performance and power efficiency.
• How heterogeneous compute and the convergence of AI, functional safety, and security requirements are changing the way complex systems are designed.
• Why earlier architectural decisions, proven system IP and intelligent automation are becoming essential to managing complexity and accelerating development.
• How multi-die architectures, AI-assisted engineering, and system-level integration could shape the next generation of semiconductor innovation.

Explore the insights behind 1,000 design starts and the innovations shaping what comes next.

“The next wave of semiconductor innovation will be shaped by how effectively companies connect, coordinate, and scale increasingly sophisticated computing systems. As AI drives new demands across data centers, automotive, and physical AI, Arteris continues to advance the system IP and automation technologies that help customers develop differentiated silicon and bring products to market faster.”

K. Charles Janac, President and CEO, Arteris