Re-programmable chips are becoming increasingly important in the mobile world. The main variety, FPGAs (field programmable gate arrays), can greatly accelerate the performance of the kind of heavy duty processes which will be central to 5G services, from advanced beamforming to artificial intelligence (AI). Their flexibility also allows them to be adapted to changes in standards or network processes. Just as the FPGA is taking center stage in the mobile market, Xilinx – the largest independent provider of these chips since rival Altera was acquired by Intel – says it is no longer an FPGA company. At its recent developers’ conference, CEO Victor Peng proclaimed: “Xilinx is not an FPGA company; Xilinx is a platform company.” With its new Versal…