Samsung's System LSI division is introducing Anthropic's Claude Code into semiconductor design and verification processes, compressing chip testing projects that previously took over a month to just two days, with development efficiency increasing by about 15 times. According to South Korean media Chosun Business, Samsung opened access to Claude Code for software developers in May this year and later expanded its use to hardware design and verification.
In a custom SoC project involving 64 complex intertwined data paths, Claude Code built a virtual testing environment and completed verification in just two days. Since the DRAM controller standard documentation and RTL code had not yet been delivered, engineers provided the model with SoC specifications and EDA vendor data. Claude inserted virtual placeholders to check the core data paths and identified potential errors before the actual circuit design was completed.
In another case, a second-year engineer with no prior experience using Vibe Code or Claude Code completed the development of a virtual USB keyboard and mouse model and Android drivers in just one day, while the traditional process usually takes several weeks. Such applications help Samsung bridge the personnel gap with Qualcomm: Samsung's System LSI division has approximately 6,000 employees, compared to Qualcomm's 52,000.
However, Claude Code still faces issues such as insufficient understanding of hardware, and there have been instances where it incorrectly modified tags, mistakenly restored code, and attempted to modify core RTL circuits. Therefore, Samsung currently positions it as an auxiliary tool, with engineers setting boundaries, objectives, and reviewing the code line by line to reduce hardware risks during mass production of chips.
