Date: 12/05/2009

Synopsys ups its IP vendor ranking by spending just $22 million

MIPS had acquired Analog IP vendor called Chipidea for about $147 million back in 2007, happier times of semiconductor industry. Now Synopsys has bought that part of the business from MIPS only at $22 million.
Through this acquisition, Synopsys gets into its IP product-list a range of analog IPs such as Analog-to-Digital Converters, Digital-to-Analog Converters, Audio Codecs and Power Management. It will also add HDMI TX and RX protocols to Synopsys' existing interface IP solution.

With this smart acquisition, Synopsys can be estimated to be positioned at next only to ARM in semiconductor IP vendor ranking. Precision analog area is still a skill only few semiconductor companies have mastered, and most of the SoC vendors would prefer to buy ready IP in GDS II format rather than getting done from internal team to speed up their chip design. For Synopsys, it's easier to sell its IP to its VLSI chip design software customers, where the IP can be bundled along with its EDA tools.

Synopsys' other IP listing includes digital controllers, PHY and Verification IP for protocols such as USB, PCI Express, DDR, SATA and Ethernet.

"With this acquisition, Synopsys is well-positioned to provide our customers with a strong interface and analog IP portfolio that is silicon-proven, shipping in volume and unmatched in the industry," said Joachim Kunkel, vice president and general manager of the Solutions Group at Synopsys. "One of the reasons designers turn to Synopsys is because they have trust in the IP and know that we will be there for the long term. With the addition of the new analog IP products and the highly skilled engineering team, our customers will benefit from a broader portfolio of high quality IP, thereby reducing risk and speeding time-to-market."