Solving the Hard Problems: Combining AI and Physics for PCB Design

Sergiy Nesterenko, founder and CEO of Quilter, discusses his journey from SpaceX to creating an AI platform that uses reinforcement learning and computational physics to fully automate complex PCB layouts.

In this fascinating interview, Sergiy Nesterenko details the journey that ultimately drove him to solve a critical bottleneck in hardware engineering: the manual, slow process of printed circuit board (PCB) layout.

Quilter is using AI and first-principle physics to automate PCB design. Image used courtesy of Quilter

In his discussion with our Moore’s Lobby host, Daniel Bogdanoff, Sergiy shares engaging anecdotes from his early career, including a SpaceX internship where he was assigned to literally watch paint dry. He also describes his first attempt at PCB layout at SpaceX, where a power switch board caught fire in his hands. This experience fueled his desire to bring robust automation to the PCB design field.

Sergiy explains why traditional auto-routers have failed to gain widespread adoption for sixty years. He then explains how Quilter solves this by leveraging reinforcement learning and computational physics.

They discuss several major technical insights and future directions, including:

The software compiler analogy.
Physics-based automation.
Tackling complex boards.
His 10-year vision.

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Meet Sergiy Nesterenko

Sergiy Nesterenko is the CEO of Quilter, having founded the company in 2019. Sergiy has led the development of the industry's first fully autonomous, physics-driven AI for electronics design, which has already been adopted by R&D teams across the aerospace, automotive, and defense industries. Sergiy is revolutionizing PCB design through physics-driven AI automation that compresses weeks of manual layout work into hours.

Previously, Sergiy spent five years at SpaceX as a Senior Radiation Effects Engineer, where he developed electronics for the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy second stage. His frustration with manual PCB design bottlenecks at SpaceX inspired Quilter's mission to transform hardware development velocity. Sergiy holds a triple major in chemistry, physics, and mathematics from UC Berkeley. A champion of "Hardware-Rich Development," he frequently speaks on accelerating innovation through computational design and first-principles engineering.