Cadence Collaborates with Imagination Technologies to Significantly Improve Designer Productivity on PowerVR Graphics Cores Using Genus Synthesis Solution

Massively parallel architecture of Genus Synthesis Solution enables up to 5X turnaround time improvement

SAN JOSE, Calif., 03 Jun 2015 -- Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDNS) today announced that it is collaborating with Imagination Technologies (IMG.L) to enhance RTL designer productivity and enable faster design convergence on Imagination graphics cores and other Imagination intellectual property (IP) using the Cadence® Genus™ Synthesis Solution. On the PowerVR GE7800 GPU, the Genus Synthesis Solution achieved a 5X improvement in turnaround time versus the previous Cadence synthesis solution with no impact on power, performance or area (PPA).

The Genus Synthesis Solution is able to synthesize a flat full graphics processor overnight, significantly improving design productivity by eliminating manual partitioning effort and avoiding poor timing optimization on cross-partition boundary paths. Synthesis runs are automatically distributed across multiple machines and CPUs, eliminating the need for manual design partitioning. This distributed processing includes intelligent resource management to ensure that no machine becomes a turnaround time bottleneck, thereby allowing turnaround times to scale linearly well beyond 10 million instances without any impact on PPA. For more information on Genus Synthesis Solution, please visit www.cadence.com/news/genus.

“At Imagination, we regard the ability to perform rapid synthesis as a key enabler for our customers to better explore the design space and achieve the best PPA within ever-shrinking tapeout schedules,” said Tony King-Smith, executive vice president of marketing at Imagination. “By working closely with Cadence, we can ensure that our mutual customers benefit fully from using the Genus Synthesis Solution on our IP core families. The Genus Synthesis Solution is showing encouraging improvements in turnaround time and PPA in comparative trials with other synthesis tools. Post-synthesis area and timing correlate well through place and route in the Cadence Innovus Implementation System.”

“Graphics cores push the limits of synthesis tools for capacity and PPA,” said Dr. Anirudh Devgan, senior vice president and general manager of the Digital and Signoff Group at Cadence. “This collaboration with Imagination Technologies ensures our mutual customers can benefit fully from the dramatic improvement in synthesis throughput offered by the Genus Synthesis Solution.”

About Cadence
Cadence enables global electronic design innovation and plays an essential role in the creation of today’s integrated circuits and electronics. Customers use Cadence software, hardware, IP and services to design and verify advanced semiconductors, consumer electronics, networking and telecommunications equipment, and computer systems. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with sales offices, design centers and research facilities around the world to serve the global electronics industry. More information about the company, its products and its services is available at www.cadence.com.