Company Profile
Cadence Introduction
Cadence Design Systems, Inc, also known as Cadence Electronics, was founded in 1988. It is an important manufacturer of electronic design automation (EDA) software and engineering services. It mainly provides integrated circuit design (IC Design). , system on chip (SoC), and printed circuit board (PCB) software tools and silicon intellectual property (IP) required, covering analog/digital/hybrid circuit design, verification, packaging/PCB design and other fields.
Company origin
In 1988, SDA Systems and ECAD merged to form Cadence Computer Co., Ltd. In the same year, Ambit Design System was also acquired. Since the 1990s, through internal development and multiple mergers and acquisitions, we have gradually built complete design solutions including wiring, synthesis, and hardware analogy.
The EDA industry is very important
What is EDA?
If you really don’t understand what EDA is, please be sure to read the introduction to EDA in another article I published before:”Three EDA oligopoly vendors: Synopsys, Cadence, and Mentor Graphics“
The future is bright
The complexity of semiconductor production has also benefited software companies Synaptics and Cadence (US: CDNS), one of the two major software design automation software companies. In fact, despite being the leader in the field, Synaptics has not only maintained its growth rate over the past decade, it’s actually accelerated it.
Semiconductors are the oil of the 21st century, and EDA software is indispensable and the most important design tool in the early stage of semiconductor design. And given that Synaptics is one of only two major EDA software vendors, it should also be able to maintain solid profitability and strong long-term growth.
The most special thing about the EDA software industry is that its business has the rare characteristics of strong growth and low cyclicality at the same time, making it a coveted target for investors.
How big is the market?
The EDA and design intellectual property market will generate approximately $14.1 billion in sales this year. Risks to the market include the possibility that the U.S. government may impose more restrictions on the sale of technology products to China. Shares in Synaptics and Cadence have also been boycotted by investors for being overvalued.
How does Cadence make money?
Product line
Cadence’s electronic design automation products cover the entire electronic design process, including:
• Custom IC technology ─ Virtuoso platform, which is the tool required to design fully customized integrated circuits, including schematic input, behavioral modeling (Verilog-AMS), circuit analogy, custom layout, physical verification, extraction, etc. Mainly used for the design of analog, mixed-signal, and RF standard units.
• Digital and signoff technology─RTL to GDS II construction, including Genus synthesis technology, Conformal formal equivalent verification, Joules power analysis, Innovus placement and routing, Tempus clock signoff, Voltus power integrity signoff, Modus automatic Test generator.
• System and verification technology – Cadence verification suite, including JasperGold formal verification, Xcelium analog, Palladium Z1 hardware analog, Protium S1 FPGA prototyping, Perspec software driver testing, Indago debugging, and verification IP product portfolio.
• Silicon Intellectual Property – Design IP solutions targeting areas including memory/storage/high-performance interface protocols, and Tensilica DSP processors for audio, vision, wireless modems, and convolutional neural networks.
• PCB and packaging technology – Allegro platform, a co-design tool for integrated circuits, packaging and PCB, OrCAD/PSpice, a PCB design tool, and Sigrity, a signal and power verification tool for system-level signoff and interface compliance.
• Specific application solutions ─ Targeting the automotive industry, providing complete solutions from IP, tools, design processes to consulting services. Design processes that comply with ISO 26262 standards have been established, and Cadence Automotive Safety Design Kits can be provided.
At the same time, Cadence Company also provides design methodology services to help customers optimize their design processes and assist customers in entering new market areas.
Product integration
Cadence Design System Company CDNS announced that Imagination Technologies is using its Cadence Cerebrus smart chip browser to accelerate the release of its latest 5nm low-power GPU, powered by artificial intelligence and a complete RTL to GDS digital process. Cadence further added that Cerebrus’ generative AI on its OnCloud platform helps Imagination reduce leakage power and overall power consumption, and increase area and performance.
Employing AI-powered Cadence Cerebrus in a software-as-a-service model brings several benefits to Imagination’s design teams, including increased productivity, cost-effectiveness through a pay-as-you-go approach, and access to pre-trained AI models for greater efficiency Project started. The Cadence Cerebrus smart chip browser and broader digital full flow are designed to support Cadence smart system design strategies and enable system improvements.
According to a report by Allied Market Research, the global generative AI market will be valued at US$10.5 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach US$191.8 billion by 2032, with a compound annual growth rate of 34.1% from 2023 to 2032. This is likely to increase demand for the company’s AI. driven solutions.
Cadence provides products and tools to assist customers in designing electronic products. The company continues to invest heavily in verification and digital design products, helping it launch products that meet the growing needs of electronics and semiconductor companies.
In September, the company launched new artificial intelligence technology and software tools to meet the growing demand for on-device and edge artificial intelligence processing. The new Cadence Neo neural processing unit is highly scalable and delivers broad AI performance while being energy efficient.
Prior to this, the company launched the next-generation artificial intelligence-driven OrCAD X platform, which also supports the Cadence OnCloud Platform. The platform features enhanced electrical constraints and performance improvements. It is deeply integrated with Cadence ‘s system design and analysis product portfolio, thereby reducing time to market.
Clients
Nvidia
CEO Devgan pointed out in the third quarter 2023 earnings call that Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun had publicly mentioned that Nvidia was a major customer of Cadence .
Tesla
CEO Devgan also pointed out during the third quarter 2023 earnings call that Cadence successfully cooperated with Tesla to develop the game-changing Dojo AI supercomputer.
Mergers and acquisitions
EDA/IP M&A Wave
EDA/IP belongs to the upstream supporting industry of semiconductors, and its importance for chip design, manufacturing, packaging and testing is self-evident. In order to meet the growing and complex market demands, major giants have been adopting merger and acquisition strategies to promote industry development and their own growth.
This is also the reason for Cadence’s frequent mergers and acquisitions.
In fact, in the long run, the development of semiconductors is inseparable from mergers and acquisitions. In particular, the development history of the EDA industry is a magnificent epic full of mergers and acquisitions.
According to statistics, the EDA industry has experienced nearly 300 mergers and acquisitions in the past 30 years, of which about 20 mergers and acquisitions even occurred in a year during the industry’s peak period. Through these mergers and acquisitions, they have brought together technologies, knowledge and talents from different fields, and continued to expand their product and service portfolios to better meet customer needs and enhance market competitiveness.
Cadence, Synopsys’ biggest competitor, has also made up for its shortcomings in electromagnetic field simulation analysis from chip to system through the acquisition of Sigrity, AWR and Integrand Software, and established an independent multi-physics system analysis department. It also acquired NUMECA, Pointwise and Future Facilities have CFD simulation capabilities and are ready for system analysis in the post-Moore era.
This “two-pronged” strategy of combining independent research and development with mergers and acquisitions enables the three major EDA giants to continue to innovate and lead the wave of industrial development. At the same time, they play a key role in the global semiconductor ecosystem. By integrating a variety of technologies and resources, they provide comprehensive solutions for semiconductor design, manufacturing and verification, promote the rapid growth of the semiconductor industry, and protect the competitiveness of the global semiconductor industry. This also reflects that in the high-tech field, technological innovation and market integration are inseparable, and mergers and acquisitions have become one of the important driving forces for industrial evolution.
AWR
In 2019, Cadence Design Systems announced the acquisition of AWR from NATI for US$160 million. AWR provides high frequency RF EDA software. Through this transaction, Cadence will integrate AWR’s systems into its multiple networks to provide customers with a more full-featured product outlook.
Intrinsix
In September 2023, Cadence announced that it had reached a final agreement to acquire Intrinsix Corporation. Intrinsix is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CEVA, a leader in wireless connectivity and smart sensing technology. It is a design engineering solution provider focusing on the U.S. aerospace and defense industry, with expertise in radio frequency, mixed-signal, digital, software, security processors and The heterogeneous SoC interface IP field provides complex SoC design expertise with over 1,500 successful designs, and its customer base includes companies such as Intel, IBM, Analog Devices, and Lockheed Martin.
The acquisition will bring Cadence a highly skilled engineering team with expertise in advanced nodes, RF, mixed-signal and security algorithms to support customers in key high-growth verticals such as the aerospace and defense industries. , addressing increasing silicon and system-level complexity and accelerating time to market.
Pulsic
On July 15, 2023, Cadence announced the completion of the acquisition of EDA company Pulsic, further expanding its multi-physics system analysis and computational fluid dynamics product lineup.
Rambus SerDes and PHY IP services
On July 20, 2023, Cadence once again reached a final agreement to acquire Rambus SerDes and memory interface PHY IP business.
Memory and SerDes IP design and integration remain integral to the design of artificial intelligence, data center and hyperscale applications, CPU architectures and network equipment, and the addition of Rambus IP and an experienced team further accelerates Cadence’s intelligent systems Design strategies to drive design excellence.
The acquisition of Rambus PHY IP broadens Cadence’s well-established enterprise IP portfolio and expands its presence across geographies and vertical markets, such as the aerospace and defense markets, providing complete subsystem solutions to further meet the needs of Cadence’s global customers .
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