The U.S. government is reportedly asking the Netherlands, Germany, South Korea and Japan to put in place additional restrictions on exports to China. Japan is being asked to limit exports of chemicals such as photoresist, the Netherlands to stop ASML from servicing and repairing lithography equipment installed in China before limits on sales were put in place. Moving to this week’s news roundup, the trend towards convergence between EDA and the rest of engineering software continues – with Cadence’s acquisition of Beta CAE. Even though much smaller in financial terms ($1.24 billion), this move can be likened to the recent Synopsys’ acquisition of Ansys.
Cadence acquires structural analysis tool vendor Beta CAE
Cadence has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Switzerland-based Beta CAE, a leading provider of structural analysis and multi-domain simulation solutions. Beta CAE has a strong presence in the automotive industry. Its flagship products include Ansa, a multidisciplinary CAE pre-processor, and Meta, a multidisciplinary CAE post-processor. Additionally, Beta CAE’s Epilysis and Fatiq solvers are used in structural analysis and optimization problems, while the SPDRM (simulation, process, data, and resources management) tool manages the CAE processes. According to Cadence, Beta CAE’s products are very complementary to Cadence’s multiphysics system analysis portfolio – which includes Clarity, Celsius, Sigrity, Voltus, Fidelity and the recently announced Millennium M1 multiphysics platform.
Altera gets its name back after eight years
Following last October decision to operate its Programmable Solutions Group as a standalone business, Intel has recently rebranded it as “Altera”. In other words, the entity is getting its original name back. Intel bought FPGA vendor Altera in 2015 and dropped its name. Now this famous brand will reappear, with the addition of “An Intel Company”. Led by CEO Sandra Rivera, Altera is now seeking additional growth opportunities in AI applications. The company has preannounced a new product series called Agilex 3 – a low-power line of FPGAs aimed at low-complexity functions for cloud, communications and intelligent edge applications. Intel plans to hold a public offering for stock in Altera over the next two to three years.
