In its three decades, electronic design automation has rarely strayed far from the headlines. And that’s the case today, with Cadence pursuing a hostile takeover of rival Mentor Graphics.
Should Cadence succeed, how might that affect the eda sector? Some observers are worried about the concentration of market share in the hands of one company and the potential for product development to slow.
So, will the eda industry survive in its current form? “Primarily,” said Gary Smith, ceo of market watcher Gary Smith EDA. “The big change will be that the main source of revenue will no longer be semiconductor design; it will be system, or subsystem, design targeting pcb based microprocessor and fpga based fabrics.”
But he says we shouldn’t count on companies like Cadence, Mentor, Synopsys and Magma being around in the future. “And the ‘middle ground’ isn’t very stable either.”
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