2 nd in a 2-part series
Following on Willi Brandenburg’s interview two weeks ago, here is the viewpoint of Synopsys’ management on the LucidShape acquisition.
DVN: Tell us about the history of Synopsys as a company.
Synopsys: Synopsys is a market and technology leader in the development and sale of EDA tools and semiconductor intellectual property (IP). One of the largest software companies in the world, Synopsys grew from a small, one-product start-up to a global leader with more than $1.9bn in annual revenue in fiscal 2013. Today, Synopsys provides a broad range of products and services that accelerate innovation in the electronics market. Founded in 1986 by Dr. Aart de Geus and a team of engineers from General Electric’s Microelectronics Centre in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, Synopsys was first established as “Optimal Solutions” with a charter to develop and market ground-breaking synthesis technology developed by the team at General Electric. The company pioneered the commercial application of logic synthesis that has since been adopted by every major semiconductor design company in the world. This technology provided an exponential leap in integrated circuit (IC) design productivity by allowing engineers to specify chip functionality at a higher level of abstraction. Without this technology, the complex designs of today would not be possible.
 George Bayz, Synopsys Optical Solutions VP and General Manager |
The combination of in-house technology innovation and strategic acquisitions has helped drive Synopsys’ success, extending the company beyond our core business to address emerging areas of great importance to our customers and in the market. Optical Research Associates , a leading provider of optical design, analysis and modeling software; RSoft Design Group , a maker of photonics design and simulation software; and now Brandenburg are a few excellent examples.