California-based Cadence Design Systems has set up a $5m fund at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to advance research and teaching in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and data analytics.

The Cadence Design Systems Professorship Fund has been established at MIT’s Stephen A Schwarzman College of Computing.

The fund will let the college establish a full professorship for faculty with research and teaching interests in the fields of AI, machine learning and data analytics and can provide career development opportunities for those doing research in these areas.

“We’re delighted to support MIT’s efforts to advance innovation in the exciting fields of AI, ML and data analytics,” said Lip-Bu Tan, chief executive officer of Cadence. “These transformative technologies are key to the computational software industry and Cadence, and we look forward to enabling the acceleration of MIT’s ground-breaking research in these areas. I was very fortunate to have obtained my master of science degree in nuclear engineering from MIT where I focused my studies on system simulation analysis, so this endowment is very personal to me.”

Establishing the fund at MIT is part of Cadence’s overall commitment to advancing education and fostering innovation in AI, ML and data analytics.

“Scholars within the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing are at the forefront of computing research and education,” said Daniel Huttenlocher, dean of the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing. “Cadence’s generous gift is providing vital new resources for the college in supporting these faculty as they deliver the latest advances in computing and AI. I’m extremely grateful to Cadence for their contribution and commitment to MIT and the college.”

Cadence specialises in electronic design, building upon more than 30 years of computational software expertise. The company applies its intelligent system design strategy to deliver software, hardware and IP that turn design concepts into reality.

Cadence customers are companies delivering electronic products from chips to boards to systems for applications including consumer, hyperscale computing, 5G communications, automotive, mobile, aerospace, industrial and healthcare.