PathKey.AI formalises world-class AI and chip design expertise with inaugural advisory board appointment
PathKey.AI Ltd (ASX: PKY) has formed an Advisory Board to support the build-out of its Chipforge team and the commercialisation of the Chipforge platform, with Professor Anupam Chattopadhyay of Nanyang Technological University (NTU) named as the inaugural appointment. Critically, this is not a cold hire. Professor Chattopadhyay has already been integral to the development and testing of Chipforge’s early-stage technology, and the Advisory Board role formalises an ongoing working relationship.
NTU is ranked 2nd in the world for Artificial Intelligence by U.S. News & World Report. Professor Chattopadhyay holds a PhD from RWTH Aachen in Germany, where his research produced a proprietary chip-design tool spun out as LISATek. LISATek was subsequently acquired by CoWare, which was itself later acquired by Synopsys, one of the largest chip design software companies in the world.
His work has been cited more than 10,000 times, covered by outlets including The Economist, and in 2025 he received NTU’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award.
Andrew Farnsworth, CEO
“Anupam has been part of the Chipforge development from the start, so this appointment formalises a relationship that is already delivering. He has built chip design tools that reached the global market and now works at the front edge of AI research. That is exactly the expertise we need as we take Chipforge from technology to product.”
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What Chipforge is building and why it matters
Chipforge is developing an AI-native semiconductor design platform that converts a description of what a chip needs to do into verified, working hardware code. Unlike conventional tools that layer AI features on top of existing workflows, Chipforge’s design flow is built from the ground up on AI models.
The Chipforge acquisition was structured around an exclusive worldwide licence from NTU’s Ntuitive Pte Ltd, positioning PKY to target a global semiconductor market forecast to reach approximately US$1 trillion by 2030.
Once fully developed, the platform will:
- Accept design intent expressed as text, images, speech, or documents
- Translate design intent into hardware design code via AI agents and proprietary models
- Run full verification and simulation within a single workflow
- Carry designs through synthesis and implementation into an FPGA
- Target a material reduction in the time and cost of custom chip development
Professor Chattopadhyay has described the opportunity in terms of scale:
Professor Anupam Chattopadhyay, Advisory Board Member
“Chipforge sits at the intersection of two fields I’ve spent my career in chip design and AI. These are critical to developing a genuinely AI-native design platform. Chipforge’s proprietary approach is practical and built for real performance, and I’m excited to help this team bring it to a trillion-dollar industry.”
A formidable advisory team taking shape
Professor Chattopadhyay’s appointment complements the recent addition of Sam Weiss as Strategic Advisor, reflecting a deliberate effort to assemble external expertise around the Chipforge platform. The two advisors bring complementary capabilities spanning deep technical research and commercial scale-up.
| Name | Role | Background | Notable Achievement | Relevance to PKY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Weiss | Strategic Advisor | Chairman of Altium (2007–2024) | Altium acquired by Renesas for A$9.1B in 2024; Altium became a global leader in PCB design software from an Australian base | Commercial scale-up and global go-to-market experience |
| Anupam Chattopadhyay | Advisory Board Member | Associate Professor, NTU (ranked 2nd globally for AI) | LISATek → CoWare → Synopsys acquisition; 10,000+ citations; NTU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award 2025 | Chip design and AI expertise directly applicable to Chipforge platform development |
PKY has indicated it intends to appoint further members to the Advisory Board in the coming months. Advisory Board members will be remunerated by way of performance rights (RSUs) issued under the Company’s employee incentive scheme, aligning advisor incentives directly with company outcomes.
Investment thesis — credibility capital at a critical stage
For investors assessing PKY’s progress, the Advisory Board appointment carries several points of strategic relevance:
- The Advisory Board was established specifically to accelerate Chipforge team build-out and product commercialisation, following the recent acquisition and integration of Chipforge into the PKY Group
- The inaugural appointment brings direct, proven experience taking a chip-design tool from academic research through to a successful global acquisition, specifically the LISATek to CoWare to Synopsys pathway
- The structure of advisory remuneration via performance rights aligns external expertise with shareholder outcomes
- Further advisory board appointments are expected in coming months, signalling ongoing momentum in team formation
- PKY also operates TrialKey, its clinical trial design and optimisation platform. Both TrialKey and Chipforge share the same agent-based AI architecture, combining large language model functionality with neuro-symbolic reasoning
The appointment signals that PKY is moving from an acquisition and integration phase into a commercialisation phase for the Chipforge platform. Specific timelines for commercial release have not been disclosed in this announcement.
Chipforge’s first commercial contract, a US$50,000 fixed-fee FPGA engagement with an Australian industrial automation company, was signed ahead of the platform’s general release, pulling forward the commercialisation timeline that the Advisory Board is now being assembled to support.
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