Understanding DARPA’s Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI)

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) launched the Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI) to reinvigorate domestic semiconductor innovation. The program spans five years with up to $1.5 billion in funding and supports new approaches to materials, design automation, and system architectures.

ERI backs the kind of high-risk research that has long defined DARPA—from Gremlin drones and self-driving vehicles to cameras that see around corners. For OpenROAD, ERI funding created a unique opportunity to tackle fully autonomous RTL→GDSII flows in the open.

Key ERI milestones:

• June 2017 — DARPA announces ERI and begins coalescing new research thrusts.
• FY18 budget — Congress allocates an additional $75 million, signaling long-term commitment.
• FY19 budget — The President’s plan earmarks $300 million annually for the following five years.
• July 2018 — The first ERI Summit convenes in San Francisco, where OpenROAD is introduced to the broader community.

Learn more from DARPA and industry coverage:

• IEEE Spectrum: DARPA’s plan to remake U.S. electronics
• DARPA: Electronics Resurgence Initiative overview
• MIL Embedded: First ERI Summit announcement
• ERI Summit event site