NetSpeed Systems

About NetSpeed Systems

NetSpeed Systems, established in 2011, operated in the semiconductor sector, providing network-on-chip (NoC) intellectual property (IP) and design tools for System-on-Chip (SoC) architects. The company was founded by Sundari Mitra, who served as CEO, and Sailesh Kumar, the Chief Technology Officer. Mitra, a seasoned entrepreneur with prior experience at Intel and Sun Microsystems, had previously founded and sold another successful startup, Prism Circuits. Kumar was a veteran architect from Cisco Systems and Huawei Technologies. This deep industry experience informed the company's approach to solving complex SoC design challenges.

NetSpeed's business model centered on licensing its NoC IP and providing its proprietary design platform, NocStudio, to clients. This platform utilized machine learning and algorithms to automate and optimize the design of the on-chip communication networks that connect various components within an SoC. The company's offerings aimed to reduce design time and costs while improving performance, power efficiency, and density for its clients, which included designers of SoCs for markets ranging from mobile and automotive to high-performance computing and networking. Its product portfolio included interconnect architectures like the Orion and Gemini IP families, which addressed different levels of coherent traffic, and the Orion AI, specifically geared toward machine learning workloads.

The company successfully raised $13.2 million over three funding rounds, with investors including Intel Capital, SK Hynix, and Walden-Riverwood Ventures. Intel, which was already a customer, acquired NetSpeed Systems on September 10, 2018. The acquisition was a strategic move for Intel to internalize NetSpeed's technology and expertise, aiming to accelerate its own SoC development and better address the growing complexity of chip design. Following the acquisition, the NetSpeed team, led by Mitra, was integrated into Intel's Silicon Engineering Group.