Chinese chip-design software company Empyrean Technology aims to become one of the world’s top electronic design automation (EDA) providers, as new U.S. export restrictions bring both opportunities and challenges to the domestic industry. Founded in 2009 and based in Beijing, Empyrean aims to ascend to the top tier of EDA providers, capitalizing on the struggles faced by its U.S. competitors in selling to China because of new export controls on chip-design software, said Yu Han, Senior Market Director at Empyrean, at the World Semiconductor Conference in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, on June 20. The remarks came after Cadence Design Systems, Synopsys and Siemens EDA – the three leading EDA suppliers that collectively hold about 80% global market share – confirmed they had received notices from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security regarding new export restrictions on software that could be used for developing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Those export controls have raised hopes among Chinese investors and analysts that local companies could seize new market opportunities. Besides Empyrean, other domestic EDA tool vendors, such as Primarius Technologies and Semitronix, have also garnered attention.
Yu said China currently had over 100 domestic EDA companies, with Empyrean capturing half of that market share. He said Empyrean was the only Chinese company positioned among the second-tier global EDA providers, along with U.S. firms Ansys and Keysight Technologies. The company supplied about 80% of the 58 EDA tools required for the complete chipmaking process, with the aim of eventually offering all of them, Yu said.
However, Yu also acknowledged that a considerable gap remained between Empyrean and U.S. companies. “The main gap lies in digital integrated-circuit design tools,” he said. “While we have this area covered, there are still challenges related to process nodes and software maturity.” Building a robust ecosystem is the most difficult part, according to Yu. “When others have already established a solid ecosystem, it takes time for clients to trust our products,” he said. “Collaborative efforts from China’s semiconductor industry are needed.” With about 1,400 employees in China – the largest workforce among domestic EDA companies – Empyrean’s scale was still less than one-tenth that of Synopsys or Cadence, underscoring the gap with U.S. rivals. While Yu declined to say whether the recent U.S. ban has brought new orders for Empyrean, he expected it to hurt American companies’ ability to provide EDA services to Chinese chip foundries, particularly advanced process nodes, the South China Morning Post reports.
