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![Lip-Bu Tan, CEO, Cadence [NASDAQ: CDNS]](https://www.embeddedadvisor.com/company_logos/tt65.300x300-copy-4.jpg "Lip-Bu Tan, CEO, Cadence [NASDAQ: CDNS]")
Lip-Bu Tan, CEOA product of the merger between two mid-sized electronic design automation (EDA) vendors SDA Systems and ECAD, Inc., Cadence plays a role in semiconductor innovation, not only as a leader in electronic design automation (EDA) for more than 25 years but also as a catalytic entity in the advancement of intellectual property (IP). Cadence® IP solutions redefine the application and usability of IP in every manufacturer’s system-on-chip (SoC) designs. As manufacturers use more IP to fortify their SoCs with new functionalities, Cadence helps such clients reduce the inherited complexity and risk in designing smart technology while meeting their specific performance, area, and power (PPA) requirements.
Fast Tracking SoC Design Innovation
The sheer magnanimity of Cadence’s expertise in the today’s electronics manufacturing arena makes it imperative to throw light on the problem it solves for the electronics world to truly understand and appreciate their contribution in the advancement of System-on-Chip (SoC) designing. SoC designs have become one of the main drivers of the semiconductor technology since the last decade; making multi-million gate designs with multiple third-party intellectual property (IP) cores a commonplace. The rise of the technology can be primarily attributed to the reusability of IP, whether designed in-house or by the third-party, to improve design productivity. Cadence® IP solutions redefine the traditional ways companies use IP in the SoC designs.
What makes Cadence the fastest-growing silicon IP provider is its flagship open IP platform and IP Factory approach. The combined power of Cadence’s high-quality portfolio, an open platform, and a modern IP factory approach enables their clients to design, customize, and verify IP and IP subsystems to fit SoCs in ways that weren’t possible before. The vast Cadence IP Portfolio includes silicon-proven Tensilica® IP cores, analog PHY interfaces, standards-based IP cores, verification IP, as well as customization services aimed at current and emerging industry standards. The Cadence IP Factory provides companies with an automated approach to the customization, delivery, and verification of SoC IP. As a result, Cadence’s clients can spend more time on differentiation, with the assurance of meeting every manufacturing requirement related to costs and performance.
As transformative trends like machine learning shape the future of electronics, the opportunity for Cadence to innovate and grow is immense
Every established manufacturer knows the importance of possessing the right tools for design and verification, and it has never been more important for the electronics ecosystem. However, today electronic circuits stand as an integral component for multitudes of products, design, and verification extends its capabilities to packages, boards, and the whole supply chain. To help clients create high-quality, well differentiated electronic products, Cadence offers a broad portfolio of tools to address a wide range of challenges related to custom IC, digital, IC package, and PCB design and system-level verification.
The company’s Design IP portfolio consists of Cadence® Interface IP solutions that help organizations to design SoCs without being dependent on IP. The open IP platform and highly configurable architecture promote rich customization options for controllers and PHYs including software and prototyping solutions. Additionally, Cadence Denali® Memory and Storage IP solutions support the widest range of industry standards, with controller and PHY implementations for both high-performance and low-power applications. The solutions comply with widely used memory and storage protocols including the latest DDR, LPDDR, NAND Flash, Octal SPI, Quad SPI, and SD/SDIO/eMMC standards. This provides manufacturers with the confidence to tackle system bottlenecks and position their enterprise-class storage and embedded memory applications for success.
Cadence also offers a complete portfolio of Analog IP that is silicon-proven in a variety of foundries and nodes. The company provides some of the world’s fastest and lowest power analog-to-digital converter (ADC), digital-to-analog converter (DAC), and analog front-end (AFE) IP solutions, as well as timing and monitoring IP.
It’s quite often that organizations wish to make use of proprietary algorithms that are impossible to be replicated, but they either don’t have the time or resource to start from scratch. Thanks to Tensilica Processor Platform, Cadence empowers its clients to quickly create their unique processor or DSP, which can be optimized for different types of algorithms. The company’s patented technology allows technology teams to quickly build unique task-specific processors and DSPs that are fully tailored to application requirements, including a full matching software tool chain. Unlike the traditional fixed-ISA (instruction set architecture) processor or DSP IP, Cadence’s IP solutions provide the opportunity to make a business’ processor or DSP more suitable for the company’s application. Being customer-centric at heart, Cadence’s Tensilica Software Development Toolkit is available for free download and can be used for 15 days absolutely free. Every Tensilica DSP and processor comes included with the same base Xtensa ISA, which compliments Cadence’s end goal of delivering modern, high-performance RISC processor benefits.
"There is a high probability that the devices you use every day were verified using Cadence VIP"
Cadence’s IP portfolio also consists of Verification IP (VIP) that helps clients verify SoC designs faster, more thoroughly, and with less effort. The solution is aimed at deciphering the specifications for standard interface protocols and accurately modeling the protocols without in-depth technical knowledge. With a capability to support more than 40 communication protocols and 60 memory interfaces, Cadence VIP fits into nearly every verification environment with support for all major simulators and verification languages.
Apart from displaying excellence in technology, the company’s culture has earned it the recognition as a “Great Place to Work around the world,” as well as the Fortune’s list of the “100 Best Companies to Work For”. Their diverse teams of passionate, dedicated, and talented individuals go above and beyond for their customers, communities, and each other— every day.
