Cadence Design Systems has launched AuraStack, an agentic AI platform for PCB and advanced packaging design. Powered by Nvidia Blackwell and CUDA-X, AuraStack orchestrates end-to-end PCB workflows spanning system planning, component creation, physical implementation, multiphysics analysis, and manufacturing preparation. It builds on Cadence's existing Allegro X AI automation tools and connects placement, routing, simulation, and sign-off engines into a continuous workflow. Cadence classifies AuraStack at roughly Level 4 autonomy — the agent can receive objectives, plan operations, and return engineering results, but human engineers still interpret outcomes and make key tradeoff decisions. A demo using a 10-layer 5G smartphone design showed the agent identifying power management opportunities, running PSpice simulations, and recommending component substitutions that reduced BOM costs by ~28%. Cadence claims up to 15× productivity gains and 2× faster time to market. AuraStack is in early access with production availability expected in late August or early September 2026.
