Pathkey.AI has appointed Nanyang Technological University chip design and AI specialist Professor Anupam Chattopadhyay to the new Advisory Board supporting Chipforge. The appointment adds technical and commercialisation experience as the AI-native semiconductor platform moves from development towards a product launch, although no launch date or commercial contract was disclosed.
- Professor Anupam Chattopadhyay appointed as Chipforge Advisory Board’s inaugural member
- Advisory Board created to support team expansion and product commercialisation
- Chipforge is developing an AI-native workflow for FPGA and ASIC chip design
- Chattopadhyay previously helped develop LISATek, later acquired through CoWare by Synopsys
- Further Advisory Board appointments are planned, with members to receive performance rights
Chipforge Adds AI and Semiconductor Design Specialist
Pathkey.AI Ltd (ASX:PKY) has recruited Professor Anupam Chattopadhyay as the inaugural member of an Advisory Board created to help build out its Chipforge team and move the platform towards commercialisation. The appointment is notable for its direct fit with the technology: Chattopadhyay is a tenured Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University with experience spanning artificial intelligence and chip design.
Chattopadhyay has already been involved in the development and testing of Chipforge’s early-stage technology. Pathkey.AI said the new role formalises that relationship and gives the business continuing access to his expertise as it works towards a commercial release.
A Research Career With Commercialisation Experience
The adviser’s background gives the appointment more substance than a purely honorary technology role. His research at RWTH Aachen produced LISATek, a chip-design tool that was spun out, acquired by CoWare and later absorbed into Synopsys, a major chip-design software company.
That history provides experience of taking semiconductor design technology from research into an industry transaction, while his academic work has attracted more than 10,000 citations. Pathkey.AI also noted that he won NTU’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award in 2025. The company described the combination of chip-design and AI expertise as unusual, but the announcement does not quantify how the appointment will affect development speed, product performance or revenue.
Chipforge’s Ambitious End-to-End Workflow
Chipforge is being built to convert a description of a chip’s intended function into verified hardware code. Its proposed workflow uses AI agents and proprietary models to interpret design intent expressed through text, images, speech or documents, then generate register-transfer-level code, run verification and simulation, and progress through synthesis and implementation into an FPGA.
The platform is intended to support both FPGA and ASIC targets and, once fully developed, automate custom chip design within a single workflow. Those capabilities remain development and commercialisation objectives rather than disclosed operating results. The filing provides no customer names, revenue figures, confirmed launch date or evidence of product deployment.
Advisory Board to Be Remunerated With Performance Rights
Chattopadhyay joins Strategic Advisor Sam Weiss, the former Altium chairman, as Pathkey.AI assembles an external group around Chipforge. The company intends to add further members in coming months and says Advisory Board members will be remunerated through performance rights under its employee incentive scheme.
No number, vesting schedule or valuation for the proposed rights was disclosed in this announcement. For shareholders, the immediate signal is therefore one of specialist capability and network-building rather than a measurable financial milestone. The next meaningful test will be whether the expanded team produces a defined commercial release, customer agreement or evidence that Chipforge can perform its promised design flow in practice.
Bottom Line?
The appointment strengthens Chipforge’s technical credentials, but the investment case still depends on converting an ambitious platform into demonstrable products, customers and revenue.
Questions in the middle?
- When will Chipforge reach a defined commercial release or customer deployment?
- What performance and vesting conditions will apply to the Advisory Board rights?
- Can the platform demonstrate its claimed end-to-end workflow on real FPGA or ASIC projects?