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Mentor Graphics Corp. has made available new high-speed datatypes based on ANSI C++ that the company claims can accelerate algorithm validation by 10 fold.

Algorithmic C datatypes are described as arbitrary-bit-width datatypes and are said to enable algorithm, system and hardware designers to precisely model bit-true behavior in C++ specifications while accelerating simulation speeds by 10-200x. Mentor (Wilsonville, Ore.) said it is making the C++ datatypes immediately available to designers and EDA tool vendors through the company's Web site.

Read full article @ Datatypes accelerate algorithm validation by 10X.

IBM (Armonk, N.Y.) and Georgia Tech (Atlanta) claimed that they have demonstrated the first silicon-based chip capable of operating at frequencies above 500 GHz by cryogenically "freezing" the circuit to minus 451 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 Kelvins).

By comparison, 500 GHz is more than 250 times faster than today's cell phones, which typically operate at approximately 2 GHz, according to the organizations.

Still, it's hard to imagine many commercial applications for a chip that is cryogenically frozen to minus 451 degrees Fahrenheit. Another question is whether speed still matters at a time when chip designers are much more focused on power management. 

Read in full @ IBM's 'frozen chip' claims speed record

Together with previous Weiss Peck & Greer Venture Partners funds now under Opus Capital management, the new fund brings total committed capital under management to more than $1 billion, according to the Menlo Park, Calif., firm.

The target size for the fund was $250 million, with an initial closing in April and a second and final closing in May, according to Opus.

Read @ Tech-focused VC fund adds $280 million