Welcome to Open Source Silicon @ Stanford

The demand for innovation in computer chips is incredibly high, driven by the desire to improve power and performance across a wide range of computing applications. To facilitate the innovation society needs, we believe that today’s engineering students should be well-prepared in the art of chip design. However, chip design is often inaccessible to students. It requires a deep understanding of various technical concepts, such as physics, digital logic design, and hardware-level computing languages, along with access to specialized labs and cutting-edge equipment.

For this reason, Open-Source Silicon @ Stanford (OS3) was formed. Our goal is to give Stanford students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in chip design while fostering a community of passionate and curious engineers. Our mission is to make chip design accessible to all, welcoming students from every background and experience level. Funded by Apple and Stanford’s EE department, we collaborate with organizational partners to develop custom silicon solutions that create meaningful impacts. This includes not only designing the silicon chips themselves but also embedding them onto printed circuit boards with unique software stacks, facilitating seamless interaction with hardware.

As part of our mission to make chip design accessible, OS3 leverages and actively contributes to the open-source ecosystem of chip design. We publish all our projects publicly, hoping to inspire a new generation of computer engineers and silicon enthusiasts.