Tomorrow's Chip Design is Open Source – Impressions from ORConf 2025 in Valencia

Open-source technologies are becoming more and more important in chip design, opening up new possibilities for education, research, and collaboration. Among them, open-source Process Design Kits (PDKs) play a particularly important role: they let students and researchers explore real design flows and build hands-on experience in chip development.

But how can students get early access to these tools, and what opportunities do open PDKs create for real-world applications?

These were some of the questions we explored in our presentation at ORConf 2025 in Valencia, one of the central platforms for the European open source chip design community.

From Concept to Trial Run: The LAYR Open Chip Challenge

In our talk “Shaping Tomorrows Chip Designers: Open-Source Initiatives at IHP”, we introduced the OCDCpro project and the “LAYR Open Chip Challenge.” This October, a trial run with four university teams will put the competition concept to the test for the first time. Built on the IHP open-source PDK, the challenge allows students to move through real design workflows, gaining practical insights into chip design while also addressing topics such as Security by Design right from the start. Open-source PDKs like the one from IHP not only lower barriers that exist in commercial settings, but also enable new forms of collaboration across research, industry, and the community.

The discussions and presentations at ORConf highlighted once again how crucial close collaboration is between research, industry, community, and funding bodies. For us, the conference was a chance to exchange ideas with the international open-source scene, strengthen connections, and gather inspiration for the next steps of our initiative.

Looking Ahead

We left Valencia with valuable insights, new contacts, and a sense of momentum. Our thanks go to the FOSSi Foundation and the ORConf organisers for creating this space for exchange and collaboration.

The talk can be rewatched via this link.