I've been curious about the flexibility of ASIC chips since they seem highly specialized. If an ASIC was designed for a particular task, like performing machine learning calculations, is it possible to repurpose it for something completely different, such as weather forecasting? What happens to these chips when their original use case is no longer relevant or needed?
1 Answer
Basically, once the use case for an ASIC disappears, it’s pretty much game over for that chip. They’re specifically designed for one purpose, so if the company that made them stops production, they’re gone for good. I used to work on oscilloscopes that relied on some ASICs. If the product line was discontinued, those chips would never be made again. It's all about the company owning the design and having a foundry produce them exclusively.
That’s wild! So it’s like they’re locked into one task forever, right? Kind of like a marriage between hardware and software, where they’re both tied to that specific function!