Astrus does layout on the microchip level (vs the PCB level). Layout on the microchip level is significantly more difficult and takes much more time than layout on the PCB level.
PCB
Microchip
Within microchip design, there is two key categories of design work, Digital and Analog. Digital layout is currently almost entirely automated. For analog layout, the process is still completely manual. This job is done by layout engineers.
Every microchip will have both an analog and digital portion, but for most chips with analog design takes longer than the digital design.
https://semiengineering.com/mixed-messages-for-mixed-signal/
At Astrus we are tackling analog layout, which represents the majority of the design time for most chips.
The current design process included two key roles:
First a circuit designer will design an idealized version of the circuit, called a schematic.
Then a layout engineer will do layout, the process of placing components and routing wires using CAD tools.