Synopsys buys EDA vendor Ciranova

SAN FRANCISCO—EDA and IP vendor Synopsys Inc. said Monday (July 30) it completed the acquisition of EDA tool vendor Ciranova Inc. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Ciranova, founded in 2003, provides analog and mixed-signal IC layout tools. The company is focused on delivering productivity improvements in custom IC design by reducing the time and effort needed to develop transistor-level layout on advanced nodes

Synopsys (Mountain View, Calif.) said it would utilize Ciranova's technology to advance its custom IC design tools and enable design teams to better meet the productivity challenges created by the complexity of nanometer designs.

"This acquisition creates an opportunity to deliver productivity gains by integrating Ciranova's Helix placer with Synopsys' custom design solution," said Paul Lo, senior vice president and general manager of Synopsys' Analog Mixed-Signal Group, in a statement.

Both Synopsys and Ciranova were founding members of the Interoperable PDK Libraries (IPL) Alliance—an industry standard organization established to develop an interoperable eco-system for custom design. Lo said the acquisition of Ciranova underscores Synopsys' commitment to enabling an interoperable process design kit ecosystem.

"To ensure the long-term growth of the iPDK ecosystem, Synopsys will continue providing Ciranova's PyCell Studio and PyCell usage at no charge," Lo said.

Chip makers and the EDA community have been working toward the goal of open PDKs for years. Some EDA companies, notably Cadence Design Systems Inc., have resisted joining the IPL Appliance, viewing it as a competitive threat to its own proprietary format.