The chip designers

Blueprints of integrated circuits are being developed in Adlershof

It should be common knowledge by now that microchips are at the heart of every computer, tablet, or smartphone. They execute the commands that our apps and operating systems give them. But there are still many more chips that perform their services in a vast number of other devices. In network systems, for example, they make sure that we can surf the internet, stream a series, or make phone calls. They do not require software for their tasks. They have been tailor-made to do what they do. The focus at Synogate, a start-up, is on these designs.

“We design microchips,” says Philipp Keydel. A lawyer by training, he founded Synogate together with Michael Offel and Andreas Ley in Berlin in 2021. “Our focus is on circuits for networking and communication solutions.” Two types are distinguished here: ASICs and FPGAs. The former abbreviation expands to application-specific integrated circuits. These have been customised for a particular function that is cast in silicon. Once the elaborate and expensive template has been created, they can be produced quite inexpensively in large quantities. However, there's no changing them later on.

This is different from the latter, field-programmable gate arrays. In the field, they serve their purpose and can be modified in the device at a later time. “Whether you’re developing ASICs or FPGAs, the development of chips typically begins with a white sheet of paper,” explains Keydel.

“The circuits that the client want for their intended purpose are developed step by step. To do so, we use a hardware description language.” This then results in highly specialised chips tailored to the needs of each manufacturer. “ASICs and FPGAs are much quicker than executing software code using off-the-shelf processors. Especially with computing-intensive processes like the coordination of data traffic on the internet or AI applications, this has huge advantages,” says Keydel. An example for illustration: If a large insurance company recalculates the risk assessment of its customers at the end of the year, its servers run at full speed for two weeks. Specially designed chips could do the job in less than two days.

The founders met more than ten years ago. “The three of us worked for the same game developer,” remembers Keydel. “Michael Offel and Andreas Ley were programmers there, and I was in production and quality management.” For a while, they went their separate ways. It was Michael Offel who brought them back together. To do so, the programmer worked his way to the bottom—as they say in the industry. From software development to the operating system, and, from there, deep into the “bowels” of technology. He ended up in chip design and was forced to realise that all the useful toolboxes and construction kits he knew and loved from software development did not exist here. So, he created his own. The result was Framework Gatery, a type of programming framework for chips. And the idea for Synogate.

“For this, he was on the lookout for an experienced programmer and someone for the business side of things,” says Keydel. “And so, he asked us.” He didn’t have to beg. Soon after, the three of them were reunited, scored a start-up grant, and moved into Humboldt-Inkubator in Adlershof. From there, they recently moved into the IGZ start-up centre. “We were looking for a new space but wanted to stay in Adlershof at all costs,” says the co-founder. “We feel that the place is full of intriguing companies. Ideal conditions for collaboration.” Based in Adlershof, they want to do more than design chips for hardware manufacturers all over the world. They want to develop chips of their own. “Particularly with security solutions in network technology, we see a need for Europe to catch up. We still rely on know-how from Silicon Valley in this area,” explains Keydel. He acknowledges the great potential of utilising chips to store and operate security functions. “Here, we would like to develop a European solution and push digital sovereignty and emancipation forward. This is our vision.”

Kai Dürfeld for Adlershof Journal

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