Synopsys to cut chip fab manufacturing control software in shift to AI design, sources say

By Cynthia Kim and Hyunjoo Jin

SEOUL, July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. spot plan elephantine Synopsys plans to halt offering a suite of manufacturing process power bundle utilized by planetary semiconductor makers, six sources briefed connected the substance said, arsenic it seeks to ‌divert resources to higher-margin offerings specified arsenic AI design.

Synopsys successful April and May informed much than 10 chipmakers including Samsung Electronics, ‌SK Hynix, Kioxia Holdings Corp and Qorvo Inc astir the "end of life" determination that means Synopsys volition not supply aboriginal caller versions and volition lone transportation retired attraction obligations, 2 of ​the sources said.

The affected products see the Equipment Engineering System (EES) and Fault Detection and Classification (FDC), a acceptable of automation bundle that acts arsenic the cardinal tense strategy of semiconductor fabrication plants to show and observe immoderate anomalies earlier they cascade into costly defects, the 2 sources said.

The institution has already laid disconnected a fewer twelve staff, said 3 of the sources, 1 of whom added that Synopsys plans to reason talks with each chipmaker connected attraction obligations by ‌July.

Synopsys is discontinuing immoderate bequest manufacturing analytics products to ⁠focus resources connected the highest-value products, a institution spokesperson told Reuters successful a statement, without naming the products.

The determination highlights a changing equilibrium successful the semiconductor bundle industry, wherever vendors are investing much heavy successful AI plan technologies ⁠while immoderate chipmakers progressively physique manufacturing bundle in-house.

"While we are discontinuing definite manufacturing analytics products, which are older diagnostic tools not successful our customers' captious paths of production, we proceed to put successful caller capabilities successful this country of our portfolio and are honoring each existing contractual and enactment obligations arsenic we instrumentality this action," the Synopsys spokesperson said.

The institution declined to ​disclose ​whether occupation cuts were involved.

CUSTOMERS LOOK TO DEVELOP IN-HOUSE TOOLS

Synopsys began offering the EES ​product aft acquiring semiconductor manufacturing solutions from South Korean ‌firm BISTel successful 2021 for an undisclosed amount.

One of the sources said Synopsys had been wanting to beryllium escaped of enactment and attraction obligations related to IP services and to reallocate engineers to high-margin AI design. Synopsys completed its $35 cardinal acquisition of engineering bundle steadfast Ansys successful 2025.

That idiosyncratic and a 2nd root said the software's removal risked causing immoderate declines successful accumulation yields for chipmakers arsenic the bundle needed to beryllium perpetually maintained, updated and patched.