Analysis: Synplicity's 'Hardi' ASIC prototyping play

Richard Goering, EE Times
(06/06/2007 11:42 AM EDT)
 
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — The recent acquisition of ASIC prototyping provider Hardi Electronics AB by FPGA synthesis provider Synplicity Inc. isn't one of the larger EDA acquisitions, but it's an interesting strategic move. It brings Synplicity into the ASIC verification market in such a way that it isn't directly competing with other large EDA providers.

Synplicity announced June 1 its intention to purchase Hardi for $24.2 million in cash, with the acquisition expected to close later this week. Hardi's 14 employees will remain in Lund, Sweden and become Synplicity employees.

Hardi sells FPGA-based motherboards and daughterboards that can be quickly snapped together to form ASIC rapid prototyping solutions, claiming to run at speeds up to 125 MHz. The company is part of a deeply fragmented but growing "rapid prototyping" marketplace represented by a handful of small vendors. Synplicity has recently begun to nudge into the ASIC verification world with software products that support synthesis and debugging for FPGA-based ASIC prototypes.

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