Agentic AI Design Verification Challenge 2026
Competition Date/Time: Start: March 30, 8 am PST, End: April 8, 8pm PST, Location: Online, Winners will be announced on Thursday April 9 at ISQED'26.
Registration Deadline: Registrations OPEN!
The Agentic AI Design Verification Challenge at ISQED 2026 invites participants worldwide to explore how Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI agents can enhance hardware design verification. This competition focuses on developing intelligent, AI-assisted verification environments capable of improving functional coverage, accelerating bug detection, and enabling scalable verification workflows.
Participants will receive RTL design packages, specifications, and an evaluation harness. Competitors are expected to build verification frameworks using LLMs, agentic workflows, or multi-agent systems to thoroughly validate the designs. Submissions will be automatically evaluated using a standardized backend that measures functional coverage, verification completeness, and robustness. In addition to quantitative metrics, submissions will be assessed on methodological quality, including the effectiveness of AI integration, automation strategies, and overall verification approach. Participants may submit multiple iterations during the competition window.
Awards and Recognition:
Top-performing participants will receive formal recognition based on overall verification performance and innovation. Additional details on awards will be announced at competition launch.
Eligibility:
Open to students, researchers, and industry professionals worldwide. The competition is suitable for both hardware verification experts and AI researchers interested in applying intelligent systems to electronic design automation.
Registration:
Registration is required to participate. Detailed instructions, competition resources, and submission guidelines will be released at competition launch on the official ISQED competition webpage.
Link to register for the competition: https://pilotcrew.ai/competition/agentic-ai-design-verification-challenge-2026_isqed
Organizers:
Farinaz Koushanfar, University of California San Diego
Houman Homayoun, University of California Davis
Kevin Immanuel Gubbi, University of California Davis
Nojan Sheybani, University of California San Diego
If you have any questions, please contact Kevin Gubbi kgubbi@ucdavis.edu