Samsung says Claude Code can cut chip design work from weeks to days, but it still makes serious mistakes

Bottom line: Samsung has begun using Anthropic's Claude Code in semiconductor design and verification work over the last few months, and the tool has sharply reduced the time required for some engineering tasks. But the company has also encountered errors, including unintended changes and attempts to alter code outside the scope of an assignment. Those issues have kept Samsung's engineers directly involved in reviewing Claude Code's output before it can affect a broader chip design.

Claude Code has helped Samsung's System LSI division complete work that would usually take weeks in a matter of days, according to a report in Chosun Biz. But it has also lowered the severity of error messages instead of fixing the underlying problems, rolled back unrelated completed work, and attempted to modify circuit code it was not meant to touch.

One reported success involved checking the internal data connections of a custom system-on-chip. Nonstandard documentation and a delayed DRAM controller RTL design complicated the work. Claude Code helped engineers create a virtual verification environment, using placeholder blocks for the missing RTL, and develop test scenarios before the full design was available.

The project would normally have taken more than a month, but was completed in about two days, according to the report.

In another case, a second-year engineer used Claude Code to create USB device models for an emulator and adapt an Android driver. The work usually takes about a month, but was reportedly completed in one day.

But Claude Code has also made mistakes. In one case, the AI responded to an error by changing its classification from an error to an informational message rather than correcting it. In another, a request to reverse a feature led the tool to undo unrelated work that had already been completed. It also tried to change register-transfer level (RTL) circuit code without authorization.

The report also noted that Samsung's System LSI division has about 6,000 employees, compared with around 52,000 at Qualcomm. AI could help Samsung improve development efficiency despite its much smaller workforce.

Claude Code is part of Samsung's broader effort to use generative AI across its operations. The company also uses tools such as Google Gemini and ChatGPT in research and development, manufacturing, marketing, and support.