Freescale and Cadence partner to innovate semiconductor product design

November 14, 2005

Freescale Semiconductor and Cadence Design Systems, Inc. have signed a multi-year agreement designed to help Freescale realize competitive advantages by boosting new product design efficiency and speeding the delivery of advanced silicon products to market.

To achieve this, the companies have built on their long-term relationship with a new agreement that designates Cadence as Freescale's primary vendor for electronic design automation (EDA) software, hardware and services. The companies will work together on EDA initiatives that address the challenges of creating highly advanced semiconductor products for the wireless, automotive, networking and computing segments, with a special focus on low-power, mixed-signal and high-performance designs.

Both companies will benefit through more effective development of products and technology solutions that better address current and future requirements of their respective markets.

The agreement, which calls for the consolidation of design flows and methodologies, will enable Cadence to develop solutions to Freescale's upcoming design challenges in a more timely manner. It also provides Freescale with access to the full range of Cadence software, hardware and services products from across the Cadence Encounter digital IC design, Virtuoso custom-design, Allegro silicon-package-board and co-design, and Incisive functional verification platforms, as well as design-for-manufacturing (DFM) technologies. The companies will also collaborate on the development of new, highly advanced EDA technologies.

"The complexities of deep submicron CMOS process technology demand new classes of tools and flows, especially below the 65-nm node," said Chekib Akrout, vice president of Design Technology for Freescale. "By collaborating with Cadence, we will overcome these complexities and realize competitive advantages that reinforce Freescale's reputation as a pioneer in the design and manufacture of highly advanced semiconductor products."

For Freescale, the collaboration is part of a larger effort to streamline design technology operations and establish common tools and flows across the organization. The company is reducing its roster of third-party EDA vendors to eliminate redundancies, increase efficiency and minimize costs. Cadence will be Freescale's primary supplier of EDA tools and services. However, Freescale will continue to incorporate select, specialized EDA technology from other suppliers as appropriate.

"Cadence is extremely pleased to have this level of relationship with Freescale and we look forward to collaborating on innovative solutions for the next generation of design and manufacturing challenges," said Mike Fister, president and CEO of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. "As the complexity of design increases, strategic relationships between industry leaders are increasingly the only way to ensure mutual success."

Source: Freescale Semiconductor