The Open Chiplet Economy (OCE), an initiative under the Open Compute Project, has unveiled a vendor‑neutral framework that invites chip designers, IP suppliers, EDA tool makers and software developers to collaborate on the front‑end of system‑in‑package (SIP) design. From November 2025 through early 2026, stakeholders will meet weekly for one hour to shape a shared ecosystem that promises to deliver ten‑fold increases in functionality over monolithic silicon, while cutting non‑recurring engineering costs and shortening time to market.
Why Chiplets Could Replace Monolithic Chips
Chiplets, small, purpose‑built silicon dies that can be assembled into a larger package, offer a modular alternative to the traditional monolithic approach, in which a single wafer hosts all functions. In a monolithic design, scaling up to meet new performance or feature demands requires a complete redesign of the silicon, a costly and time‑consuming process. Chiplets, by contrast, allow designers to mix and match pre‑validated building blocks from multiple vendors, each optimized for a specific task such as memory, analog front‑ends, or power management. This composability reduces the risk of failure in any single component and accelerates the integration cycle, because each chiplet can be produced and tested independently before being stitched together into a SIP.
The OCE framework specifically targets the front‑end of the SIP pipeline, where decisions about which chiplets to combine, how to route signals between them, and which interconnect standards to adopt are made. By establishing a common set of evaluation methodologies and interoperability guidelines, the initiative aims to lower the barrier to entry for small and medium‑sized companies that might otherwise be unable to compete with the large, vertically integrated semiconductor firms that dominate the monolithic market. The result is a more diverse ecosystem where innovation can thrive at the edges of the supply chain.
The 10x Functionality Boost Driving Key Industries
The promise of a ten‑fold increase in functionality is not a vague slogan; it reflects concrete performance gains that can be achieved when multiple dies are co‑located in a single package. For scientific computing, a SIP that integrates high‑bandwidth memory, specialized accelerators and low‑latency interconnects can deliver the throughput required for real‑time data analysis in fields such as genomics or climate modelling. In automotive, the ability to combine sensors, signal processors and connectivity modules on a single board enables safer, more autonomous vehicles while keeping power consumption within strict limits.
Edge computing, too, stands to benefit. The ability to pack diverse functions, AI inference engines, secure cryptographic modules, and power‑efficient analog front‑ends, into a compact SIP means that devices can process data locally, reducing latency and dependence on cloud infrastructure. Aerospace and defence applications, where reliability and radiation hardness are paramount, can adopt chiplets that have been individually qualified for harsh environments, thereby improving overall system resilience.
By offering a modular path to higher density and functionality, the OCE initiative is poised to unlock new capabilities across these high‑stakes sectors, driving demand for SIP solutions that would be infeasible to build with a single, monolithic die.
How Open Collaboration Accelerates System‑in‑Package Design
Open collaboration is the engine that turns the OCE’s vision into reality. The framework encourages stakeholders to share design data, IP cores, and best practices through a virtual, multi‑vendor ecosystem that is established early in the planning and prototyping phase. This shared environment allows designers to evaluate architecturally interoperable choices with higher confidence and speed, reducing the need for costly physical prototypes.
A key feature of the OCE platform is its emphasis on well‑understood evaluation methodologies. By standardising metrics such as power‑per‑performance, inter‑die latency, and thermal budgets, the initiative ensures that all participants can compare options on a level playing field. This transparency accelerates early‑stage business and technical decisions, allowing companies to pivot quickly when market demands shift.
The OCE also leverages existing tools and environments, meaning that firms can integrate the framework into their current workflows without a steep learning curve. For example, EDA vendors can expose their simulation suites through the shared ecosystem, while IP suppliers can provide ready‑to‑use cores that conform to the agreed‑upon interface standards. The result is a virtuous cycle where collaboration reduces duplication of effort, shortens development timelines, and lowers the overall risk profile of SIP projects.
Building a Virtual Ecosystem to Reduce NRE Costs
Non‑recurring engineering (NRE) costs have long been a barrier to entry in the semiconductor industry, especially for complex SIP projects that require multidisciplinary expertise. The OCE’s virtual ecosystem directly tackles this hurdle by distributing the design workload across a network of specialists. By sharing validated IP, design templates, and test benches, participants can avoid the need to rebuild foundational components from scratch.
The initiative’s open framework also encourages incremental innovation. Firms can contribute new chiplets or interconnect standards to the ecosystem without having to re‑engineer the entire package. This modular approach means that NRE costs are confined to the specific module being developed, rather than spreading across the entire system. Over time, the cumulative savings from reduced NRE can translate into lower prices for end users and a broader market for SIP solutions.
Moreover, the OCE’s emphasis on early‑stage prototyping, through virtual simulation and shared design reviews, helps identify integration issues before costly hardware is fabricated. By catching problems in the digital domain, the framework prevents costly re‑work, further trimming NRE budgets.
In sum, the virtual ecosystem is a strategic response to the high capital intensity of semiconductor development. By democratising access to design resources and fostering a culture of shared risk, the OCE is reshaping the economics of chip manufacturing.
The Open Chiplet Economy signals a turning point in how silicon is built and deployed. By championing modularity, standardisation, and open collaboration, it offers a practical path to ten‑fold gains in functionality across critical industries while keeping development costs in check. As stakeholders converge from November 2025 to early 2026 to refine the framework, the industry watches closely. Success will not only redefine the silicon supply chain but also accelerate the delivery of high‑performance, cost‑effective solutions that power everything from autonomous vehicles to next‑generation scientific instruments.
