MIPS to Showcase RISC-V Innovations at Chiplet Summit 2026 in Santa Clara
Chiplet Summit, the premier industry event focused exclusively on chiplet technologies, has announced that MIPS, a GlobalFoundries company, will be a prominent participant in the 2026 edition of the conference. The event will take place from February 17 to 19 at the Santa Clara Convention Center and will bring together the foremost leaders in semiconductor design, advanced computing, and AI-enabled embedded systems.
As the semiconductor industry continues to evolve toward modular, heterogeneous computing platforms, chiplets—small, modular functional blocks that can be interconnected to form complex chips—have emerged as a transformative approach. MIPS’ involvement in the Chiplet Summit highlights its commitment to advancing the adoption of RISC-V processor architectures in chiplet-based platforms, particularly for automotive, industrial, and embedded AI applications.
MIPS Leadership to Deliver Key Sessions
MIPS will feature a strong presence at the Summit, with several of its executives delivering presentations and participating in panel discussions. Drew Barbier, Vice President of Products at MIPS, will present a session titled “Safety-Critical Physical AI Applications Using RISC-V.” This presentation will explore how RISC-V processor designs can be leveraged in safety-critical environments, providing insights into deploying AI in real-time, mission-critical platforms. Barbier will also take part in the panel discussion “Selecting the Right Chiplets for Your Edge Application,” where he will address the practical considerations of integrating chiplets into next-generation edge computing platforms.
Adding to the thought leadership, Sam Grove, Head of Software and Tools at MIPS, will lead a presentation on “Software Guided Intelligence for Accelerating Chiplet Designs.” Grove’s session will focus on the critical role of software in driving hardware design, emphasizing how digital twin modeling and pre-silicon validation tools can accelerate development cycles and optimize performance across chiplet-based architectures.
A software-first approach is the foundation of modern system design,” said Barbier. “Our participation in Chiplet Summit 2026 provides an ideal platform to demonstrate how RISC-V processors, coupled with software-driven design methodologies, are revolutionizing physical AI applications.”
The Strategic Importance of RISC-V in Modern Computing
RISC-V, the open-standard instruction set architecture, has rapidly gained traction as a highly flexible, extensible, and cost-effective alternative to traditional proprietary processor architectures. Its modularity allows designers to customize processors for specific workloads, enabling optimized performance and energy efficiency—particularly critical in edge computing, robotics, transportation, and other embedded applications.
MIPS, a long-standing innovator in processor design, has focused its RISC-V solutions on the intersection of software-driven development and chiplet-based hardware integration. Through the MIPS Atlas portfolio, the company provides a platform that allows system designers to leverage workload-specific customization while benefiting from a robust software ecosystem. This approach ensures that AI applications deployed on edge devices, autonomous vehicles, and industrial systems can operate reliably in real-time, safety-critical scenarios.
Chuck Sobey, General Chair of Chiplet Summit, emphasized the importance of processor selection in chiplet-based design, noting, “Processor decisions play a key role in system design. MIPS’ leadership will offer our attendees the insights they need to adopt software-first RISC-V designs across a wide array of applications.”
Software-First Design: A Competitive Advantage
Modern chip design is increasingly moving toward a software-first paradigm, where software considerations drive hardware architecture rather than being an afterthought. MIPS’ approach embodies this philosophy, enabling engineers to adopt a “shift-left” methodology—an approach in which design verification and workload optimization occur early in the development cycle.
Sam Grove elaborated on this methodology: “At MIPS, we are enabling a ‘shift-left’ strategy through digital twin platform modeling with the MIPS Atlas Explorer, delivering data-driven insights into workload behavior and pre-silicon validation. As the demand for high-performance, domain-specific compute accelerates, the ability to analyze and optimize interactions between workloads and customizable compute platforms becomes a true competitive advantage.”
This approach is particularly relevant for chiplet-based platforms, where multiple modular processing blocks must be orchestrated to deliver seamless, high-efficiency performance. By simulating and validating system behavior at the software level before hardware deployment, MIPS ensures that customers can achieve faster time-to-market, improved reliability, and optimized performance for their physical AI solutions.
Chiplets and the Future of Physical AI
Chiplets are increasingly recognized as a key enabler of physical AI, which refers to AI processing that occurs at the edge, in real-time, and often in safety-critical environments such as autonomous vehicles, industrial robotics, and transportation systems. Unlike traditional monolithic chips, chiplets allow designers to mix and match specialized computing elements, memory modules, and AI accelerators to create highly optimized systems for specific workloads.
MIPS’ participation in the Chiplet Summit underscores the company’s role in this transformation. By integrating RISC-V processors into modular chiplet-based platforms, MIPS provides customers with the flexibility to deploy AI where it matters most—close to the sensor and actuator level—while ensuring compliance with safety-critical standards and real-time performance requirements.
“Our sessions will explore software-first platform design and how chiplets enable workload-specific customization, leveraging the MIPS Atlas portfolio,” said Barbier. “This approach allows engineers to focus on solving the highest-value problems, rather than getting bogged down in the complexities of hardware integration.”
MIPS: Driving RISC-V at Scale
As a company under the GlobalFoundries umbrella, MIPS brings the combined expertise of processor IP design and semiconductor manufacturing at scale. MIPS delivers RISC-V solutions that are standards-based, robust, and ready for deployment in high-growth markets, including transportation, robotics, and embedded AI.
By providing an end-to-end ecosystem—from RISC-V processor cores to software tools and chiplet integration guidance—MIPS enables customers to accelerate innovation while reducing risk and cost. This holistic approach ensures that next-generation physical AI platforms can be designed with high efficiency, reliability, and performance in mind.
About MIPS
MIPS, a GlobalFoundries company, is a leading provider of RISC-V processor IP, software, and tools for physical AI platforms. Its innovations enable autonomous edge systems that meet rigorous, software-first requirements, facilitating AI deployment in mission-critical, event-driven applications. MIPS’ technology is leveraged across transportation, robotics, and embedded computing markets, helping companies accelerate adoption of RISC-V at foundry scale. More information is available at MIPS.com.
About Chiplet Summit
Chiplet Summit, produced by Semper Technologies, is the largest event entirely dedicated to chiplets. The Summit brings together innovators and companies that are leveraging chiplets to design processors, memory modules, communications chips, and AI devices. Attendees gain access to cutting-edge insights, panel discussions, and technical sessions that highlight the latest developments in chiplet-based system design. The 2026 event in Santa Clara promises to be a hub for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and innovation in the semiconductor industry.
Conclusion
As chiplet technology reshapes the semiconductor landscape, companies like MIPS are demonstrating how software-driven, RISC-V-based design strategies are central to the next generation of high-performance, domain-specific computing. The 2026 Chiplet Summit offers an opportunity for engineers, designers, and industry leaders to explore the intersection of modular hardware, software-first design, and AI-enabled edge platforms. Through its presentations and panel discussions, MIPS will provide attendees with the tools, methodologies, and insights necessary to navigate the rapidly evolving world of physical AI and chiplet-based systems.
With its focus on software-first innovation, RISC-V processor adoption, and modular chiplet integration, MIPS is positioned to lead the conversation around next-generation embedded AI platforms, empowering developers to create systems that are safer, smarter, and faster than ever before.
