Science & Tech · AI · 1 hr ago
Ricursive Intelligence uses AI to design more efficient chips
Ricursive Intelligence is building AI to design computer chips and improve each design through repeated trials.
Founders Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini described the work at TechCrunch Disrupt.
Goldie said demand for computing power could rise at least 10,000 times in the next five years, though she called that estimate potentially conservative.
The founders say more efficient chips could help meet that demand without building vastly more data centers.
Their approach has AI optimize whole chips, rather than divide the work into many smaller blocks, and can produce layouts that differ from conventional designs.
An earlier system they developed, AlphaChip, created a circular arrangement of components that engineers initially found surprising but that proved successful.
Faster chip design could make custom chips practical for uses such as space, augmented and virtual reality, and biological computing.
The founders say AI may speed up design, while people focus on ideas and applications; they plan to share more about their designs in the future.
Ricursive Intelligence is developing AI that designs chips and improves its designs with each iteration.
Founders Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini say the approach could make chip design faster and chips more efficient.
They presented the startup’s work at TechCrunch Disrupt on Wednesday.
The founders say their AI designs entire chips, finding unconventional layouts that can outperform traditional designs.
They argue faster design could make custom chips practical for more applications, including space and augmented and virtual reality.
- Who
- Ricursive Intelligence, founded by Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini.
- What
- The startup is developing AI to design chips, learn from each iteration and improve later designs.
- When
- The founders spoke at TechCrunch Disrupt on Wednesday. The article was published on October 15, 2026.
- Where
- TechCrunch Disrupt. The article does not state the event’s location.
- Why
- The founders say AI-designed chips could improve efficiency and help address growing demand for computing power.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Goldie and Mirhoseini developed AlphaChip, an AI system that produced a circular, “donut-shaped” arrangement of chip components.
The founders took the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt to discuss Ricursive Intelligence’s AI chip-design work.
- Founders
- Anna Goldie and Azalia Mirhoseini
- Startup
- Ricursive Intelligence
- Design approach
- Optimizes entire chips rather than splitting them into dozens of smaller blocks
- Example layout
- AlphaChip produced a circular, “donut-shaped” arrangement of components
- Compute demand estimate
- At least 10,000x more demand in the next five years, according to Goldie
What people are saying
There is this understanding that in the next five years we are going to have at least 10,000x more demand for compute, and that’s somewhat potentially conservative
So we don’t want to build 10,000 times more data centers.
I think the way everything is shifting is that humans come bring their great ideas and creative thoughts, and execution is handled by AI