The Industry’s First USB4 Device IP Certification Will Speed Innovation and Edge AI Enablement

In an ever-changing technology landscape, USB (Universal Serial Bus) has been a cornerstone since its inception in the mid-1990s. Initially designed to simplify the connection of peripherals to personal computers, USB has undergone significant transformations to meet the growing demands for faster data transfer rates, improved power delivery, and enhanced versatility.

One of the latest iterations of the standard, USB4®, supports transfer rates up to 40 Gbps, improved video bandwidth, and compatibility with a wide range of devices. In doing so, it opens new possibilities and use cases involving AI and GPU accelerators at the edge, blazingly fast external storage, and high-definition content creation and streaming.

As chip designers work to bring USB4 products and innovations to market, they need proven, pre-certified IP to reduce integration risks and accelerate design cycles. Synopsys has been the leading provider of USB IP for more than two decades, and our USB4 IP solution — which includes USB4 physical layer device (PHY), USB4 device router, PCIe endpoint controller, and verification IP — is the first to achieve certification from the USB Implementors Forum (USB-IF). 

USB4 enables AI accelerator peripherals and other edge devices

Because USB4 supports high-performance, single-cable connections for power, data, video, and audio, it unlocks a variety of peripherals and edge-focused use cases:

• PCs and laptops can be significantly enhanced with USB4-connected AI and GPU accelerators. AI peripherals can provide powerful machine learning capabilities and faster data processing at the edge, and GPU peripherals can deliver exceptional graphics performance and reduced latency for more immersive gaming experiences.
• High-definition video and audio content can be seamlessly created and streamed from USB4-connected edge devices, enhancing the quality and efficiency of real-time broadcasting and editing.
• Ultra-fast storage peripherals connected via USB4 can revolutionize data capture and management, enabling rapid access and transfer of large datasets for improved productivity and processing.

First USB4 IP solution to achieve USB-IF certification

To achieve the industry’s first USB4 IP certification, we worked with UL Solutions to test our comprehensive IP offering against the rigorous technical and interoperability requirements set forth by USB-IF. Testing included electrical, protocol, interoperability, and other performance evaluations. 

Because it can take years to develop IP and physical layer devices from scratch, our certified solution represents a massive time saver for those developing USB4 hosts and peripherals. And it can be used in conjunction with our HAPS-100 prototyping system to further accelerate design and verification cycles.