# Tapeout.io technical evaluation brief

Status: discussion template, not a report of a completed evaluation. This document does not specify shipped integrations or warrant any result.

## 1. Design question
- Which spec-to-GDS handoff or design decision is currently blocked?
- What actual top, design stage and abstraction are in scope?
- Who owns the engineering review and final decision?

## 2. Representative test case
- Choose one block or design task the team is authorized to share for evaluation.
- Record the requirements, RTL/netlist revision, tests, constraints, macro inventory, and technology context under the agreed confidentiality boundary.
- Record the baseline flow and the exact artifacts needed to reproduce it.

## 3. Comparison contract
| Field | Agreed value |
|---|---|
| Design revision | To be agreed |
| Requirements, interfaces and functional reference | To be agreed |
| Requested and actual implementation scope | To be agreed |
| Process/library and operating corner | To be agreed |
| Timing, power and area definitions | To be agreed |
| Tool versions and run settings | To be agreed |
| Eligible RTL or flow changes and immutable constraints | To be agreed |
| Functional, equivalence and stage-specific physical checks | To be agreed |
| Required checks, missing-evidence policy and final signoff owner | To be agreed |
| Baseline iteration time and engineer hours | To be agreed |
| Baselines: native flow, simple search and agent-guided loop | To be agreed |
| Coverage: attempted, viable and qualified candidates | To be agreed |
| Compute, license, wall-time and engineer-time budget | To be agreed |
| Data handling and access restrictions | To be agreed |

## 4. Review packet
For each candidate, retain the initiating requirement, exact change, hypothesis, source and artifact hashes, lineage, tool run and failure status, check outcomes, comparable metrics with units and conditions, and reason for rejection or further work. Separate tool completion, artifact integrity, functional correctness, physical qualification and PPA attainment. Record elapsed time, engineer effort, and compute or license use against the same baseline contract. Show failed and inconclusive candidates. An absent mandatory check is not a pass.

## 5. Decision boundary
Tapeout's proposed agent may coordinate bounded experiments across stages and organize evidence. The design team owns requirement approval, correctness, verification, physical signoff, and tapeout authorization. Exporting GDS or ranking candidates is not proof that a chip is ready to fabricate.

## 6. Disclosure
No design data, PDK files, vendor information, or customer results should be posted to a public form or website. Obtain the appropriate agreement and approvals before sharing artifacts.