Diode Computers is designing circuit boards with AI. It just raised $11.4 million, led by Andreessen Horowitz.

Diode Computers, a pioneering startup, is transforming the landscape of printed circuit board (PCB) design by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence. Traditional PCB production is often a slow and labor-intensive process, but Diode's innovative approach promises to expedite this process significantly. By employing AI to generate custom PCB designs in code, rather than relying on traditional visual mapping methods, Diode claims it can reduce the design timeline from weeks or months to just a few days. This advancement is particularly crucial as the industry faces a shortage of skilled professionals capable of creating accurate designs. Co-founder and CEO Davide Asnaghi highlighted the urgent need for a new generation of engineers, stating, "The people that have the ability to generate circuit boards are retiring, and so now you have a very small set of people that can generate correct designs from experience." Recently, Diode raised $11.4 million in a Series A funding round led by the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, alongside contributions from Caffeinated Capital, Box Group, and Y Combinator. This funding elevates Diode's total capital to over $14 million, allowing the company to further develop its groundbreaking technology. As part of Y Combinator's summer 2024 cohort, Asnaghi and co-founder Lenny Khazan devised the concept of utilizing AI to streamline the PCB design process. Their proprietary software leverages open-source AI to translate PCB layouts into code, facilitating quicker error detection and customization for specific products. Diode's approach includes the use of large language models from OpenAI and Anthropic, along with reinforcement learning techniques to enhance their AI's ability to identify design flaws. The startup currently offers custom PCB design and manufacturing services, outsourcing production to partners in California and the East Coast. However, Asnaghi envisions a future where Diode becomes a comprehensive service hub, allowing clients to submit code for PCB production similarly to how they would deploy applications on platforms like AWS. The company aims to cater primarily to sectors such as robotics, medical devices, and aerospace, all of which are keen on advancing domestic manufacturing capabilities. Diode is already collaborating with startups like Physical Intelligence and Saronic to meet their circuit board needs. With a renewed focus on scaling American manufacturing, particularly in aerospace and defense, Diode is positioned at the forefront of this movement. Asnaghi emphasizes the need for rapid iteration in hardware design, stating, "Instead of designing one PCB board that's going to be in an airplane for the 50-year lifetime of an airplane, you're thinking about having to redesign a new electronic stack every couple of months for a drone being deployed onto a battlefield." The PCB design market is competitive, with established players like Cadence Design Systems and Altium, as well as emerging startups like Quilter, which recently secured $10 million in funding for AI-driven PCB design solutions. Before founding Diode, Asnaghi gained valuable experience designing custom silicon chips at Chromatic, where he faced challenges related to PCB design errors that delayed production. With a master's degree in engineering from Berkeley and a background that includes roles at Apple and Butterfly Network, Asnaghi's passion for electrical engineering was sparked by the open-source electronics platform Arduino. He sees electronics as a uniquely powerful discipline, merging the ethereal nature of software with tangible real-world applications. Together with Khazan, whom he met during their time at Butterfly Network, Asnaghi is committed to addressing the escalating demand for high-quality PCBs in an ever-evolving technological landscape.