The Week In Review: Design/IoT

Tools
Calypto rolled out its third-generation high-level synthesis platform after three years of development, adding granular control over which regions are optimized and the ability to work top-down and bottom-up—basically allowing designers to zoom in and out as needed. In addition, the tool has a 10X increase in capacity and supports SystemC and C++.

eSilicon unveiled its online configuration tool, which allows online tradeoffs between memories to optimize power, performance and area. The memories are optimized for all major foundries, which is critical at 28nm and below because processes vary greatly from one foundry to the next.

Mentor Graphics took the wraps off the next release of its computational fluid dynamics tool, adding more realistic operating environments and improved simulation. CFD is becoming particularly important in IoT applications for medical and industrial applications.

Chips
NXP uncorked a smart amplifier for smartphones that includes speaker protection, lower latency and lower power.

Numbers
Synopsys reported revenue of $539 million for its fiscal Q4 ended Oct. 31, up 6.8% from the same period in 2013. Net income for the quarter was $62.5 million, up 9.8% from the $56.9 million reported in 2013. On a non-GAAP basis, net income was $101 million, up 14.3% from $88.3 million in Q3 2013.

Deals
HiSilicon expanded an existing deal with Cadence for its digital and custom/analog flows for 16nm, and will collaborate with Cadence on the 10nm and 7nm flows. The company also licensed Cadence’s DDR IP and its 3D-IC solution. HiSilicon is wholly owned by Huawei.

NXP is working with Chinese officials in Jiangsu Province to develop chips for electric and hybrid vehicles in China.

People
Arteris completed the hiring of its engineering team, which will create complementary products for its network-on-chip IP. The company’s engineering team was sold as part of an unusual deal with Qualcomm last year, which acquired some of Arteris’ assets but otherwise left the company intact.

Synopsys promoted Brian Beattie to executive vice president of business operations and chief administrative officer. Trac Pham, the company’s vice president of corporate finance, was appointed CFO.

Events
3D Architectures for Semiconductor Integration and Packaging, Dec. 10-12, Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport, Burlingame, CA.

Cadence will host a Front-End Design Summit on Dec. 11 at its headquarters.

The GSA Awards Dinner will be held Dec. 11 at the Santa Clara Convention Center.