The Week In Review: Design

Tools
Mentor, a Siemens business, filled in the last of the hardware configurations for its Veloce Strato emulation family, creating a full upgrade path. Users can initially purchase only the hardware that they need (StratoTiL) and if later they require more capacity (StratoTi) or the ability to handle larger designs (StratoT), they can incrementally add the necessary hardware to their existing cabinet, or add an additional cabinet or for even more capacity (StratoT2M) or design size (StratoM). Power consumption is 17kW per cabinet and is air cooled.

Startup OnScale debuted its Solver-as-a-Service platform, OnScale Cloud, to provide advanced CAE multi-physics solvers with a scalable Cloud HPC platform. Varying subscription models are offered, including a free tier. Siemens, GE, and InvenSense were listed as beta users.

Standards
Si2 launched a working group with the aim of standardizing a new, formal declarative language to simplify finding and correcting design flaws in complex, leading-edge chip designs early in a design flow. The new language, OPAL (Open Pattern Analysis for Layout), is shape-focused and designed to cut manufacturing costs by identifying and correcting yield-detracting patterns too complex and ambiguous to describe using conventional, design-rule checking technologies. OPAL was donated by Intel.

Numbers
EDA industry revenue increased 10.7% for Q4 2017 to $2718.6 million, compared to $2455 million in Q4 2016, according to the ESD Alliance. The four-quarters moving average increased 9.5%, marking eight consecutive years of industry growth. IP had the highest growth with revenue totaling $961.5 million for Q4 2017, 12.3% over last quarter and 14.4% on a four-quarter moving average. The Americas and APAC were the fastest growing regions. Hiring was strong, with tracked companies employing 9.8% more people than in Q4 2016 and 2.4% more than last quarter.

SiFive, a provider of RISC-V IP, SoCs, and development boards, raised $50.6 million in a Series C round led by existing investors Sutter Hill Ventures, Spark Capital and Osage University Partners alongside new investor Chengwei Capital, and strategic investors including Huami, SK Telecom and Western Digital. The latest round brings total investment in the company to $64.1 million. SiFive also signed a multi-year license to its Freedom Platform with Western Digital.

People
Leo Li was named the new CEO of Imagination. Li was chairman, CEO and president of Spreadtrum Communications and chairman of RDA before becoming Co-President at Tsinghua Unigroup. According to Imagination, Li supports the company’s strategy of expanding into China and bridging the gap between US, Europe and Asia. Li replaces Andrew Heath, who oversaw the company’s sale to private equity firm Canyon Bridge and divestment of MIPS.

Jim Hogan joined the board of directors for Breker Verification Systems, a provider of graph-based portable stimulus tools. Hogan is managing partner of venture capital firm Vista Ventures and a well-known EDA entrepreneur.

Formal verification consultancy Oski Technology appointed Craig Shirley as the company’s new President and CEO. Shirley was formerly Vice President of Worldwide Sales for IC Manage, and previously held the same post at Apache Design Solutions, Jasper, and was VP of American Sales at Verisity. Vigyan Singhal, Chairman and former CEO of Oski and founder of Jasper, was appointed Chief Oski.

MRAM and ReRAM IP provider NVMEngines is changing its name to Numem. With the name change comes a change in leadership; Jack Guedj joined the company as President and CEO. Formerly, Guedj was President and CEO of Tensilica and led the spin-out of Magnum from Cirrus Logic. Nilesh Gharia, founder and former CEO, will serve as CTO and on the board of directors.

Deals
Leti’s silicon photonics process design kit (PDK) for photonic circuits is now available in the Synopsys PhoeniX OptoDesigner suite. The platform is developed for high-speed optical transceivers and highly-integrated optical interposer applications, and includes a catalog of components available at Leti.

China’s AVS 3D Audio Task Group chose Fraunhofer IIS’ MPEG-H TV Audio System as the transmission audio codec for the upcoming 3D Audio standard that will be used in the country’s 4K UHD broadcast.

Events
IP Security Assurance PWG: Apr. 17, 10 a.m. – noon in Santa Clara, CA. Initial meeting for an Accellera Proposed Working Group to assess whether there’s interest and feasibility in defining an automated systematic approach to integrating security assurance collateral. Participants need not be from Accellera member companies.

All You Need to Know About Inbound Digital Marketing: Apr. 26 in Milpitas, CA. The ESD Alliance will host a workshop focused on new marketing strategies and techniques for EDA, IP, and services companies. Nicolas Athanasopoulos, OneSpin’s Head of Digital Strategy and Dave Kelf, Chief Marketing Officer at Breker Verification Systems will lead the workshop.