Semiconductor design software firm Synopsys has told staff in China to halt services and sales in the country and stop taking new orders to comply with new U.S. export restrictions. The U.S. had ordered several companies to stop shipping goods to China without a license and revoked licenses already granted to certain suppliers, Reuters reported. Products affected include design software and chemicals for semiconductors. Synopsys suspended its annual and quarterly forecasts after it received a letter from the Bureau of Industry and Security of the U.S. Department of Commerce, informing it of new export restrictions related to China. An internal letter sent to staff in China said “based on our initial interpretation, these new restrictions broadly prohibit the sales of our products and services in China and are effective as of May 29, 2025”. To ensure compliance, Synopsys said it was blocking sales and fulfillment in China and halting new orders until it received further clarification. The measures affected all customers in China, including employees of global customers working at sites in China and Chinese military users wherever they were located, the letter added.
Alongside Cadence and Siemens EDA, Synopsys is among the top three companies that dominate electronic design automation (EDA) software that chipmakers can use to design semiconductors used in everything from smartphones to computers and cars. Restricting Chinese firms’ access to EDA tools would be a big blow to the industry as Chinese chip design customers heavily rely on top-of-the-line U.S. software. Synopsys, Cadence and Siemens’s Mentor Graphics control more than 70% of China’s EDA market. Chinese companies that have said they use Synopsys and Cadence software include design firm Brite Semiconductor, Zhuhai Jieli and semiconductor IP portfolio provider VeriSilicon.
The letter sent to staff in China also said that Chinese customers’ access to its customer support portal SolvNetPlus had been disabled, the South China Morning Post reports.
