Silvaco - Corporate - Frequently Asked Questions

The Simucad spinoff by Silvaco is the first of its kind for an EDA vendor. It enables each company to focus on its core competency, Silvaco to focus on the TCAD market and Simucad to focus on the analog/mixed-signal/RF market where being a public company is a significant advantage. As a public company, Simucad will have the resources needed to become the #1 EDA supplier of simulation and CAD software tools.

Questions:

Why did Simucad spin off from Silvaco?
What does this mean to me as a customer?
What will happen to the Silvaco line of products?
What about pricing?
Who will support my Silvaco products?

Why did Simucad spin off from Silvaco?

Simucad was spun off from Silvaco in order to continue its rapid growth in providing an integrated platform of software design tools for analog/mixed-signal/RF IC design. A future IPO will provide Simucad with the capital to fund this growth and gain the name recognition benefits of a public company.

Simucad has a large portfolio of EDA software products that specifically address the challenges of the AMS/RF IC design market—multi-level circuit simulation, design for manufacturability, nanometer technology, and delivering integrated PDK-based design platforms. This spinoff will enable Simucad to better focus on developing and delivering solutions to these challenges.

What does this mean to me as a customer?

The spin-off is great news for you and brings new opportunities for Simucad, its products and its customers. Silvaco TCAD customers will continue to receive the best service and support through its existing support channels. AMS/RF IC designers using Simucad tools will benefit from existing channels and the increased availability of new simulation products, SPICE model parameter extraction software, and PDKs from Simucad as it is making run for an IPO.

Simucad customers are looking for powerful complete solutions to address next-generation IC design challenges so they will greatly benefit from being able to purchase complete solutions. An IPO will enable Simucad to increase its product development, customer support and strong financial position, to serve its customers with a solid backing for the future and continued investment in EDA software to provide a complete set of solutions for the entire IC design process.

What will happen to the Silvaco line of products?

All existing Silvaco TCAD products will continue to be developed and fully supported. Simucad’s software products will include all simulation, layout, parasitic modeling and digital CAD solutions.

Simucad offers a complete family of simulation products for analog, mixed-signal, and RF circuit simulation. This includes the industry-leading SmartSpice Analog Circuit Simulator, Harmony Analog/Mixed-Signal Simulator, and SmartSpiceRF Circuit Simulators. The simulators are supported by UTMOST III SPICE Modeling Software and SPAYN Statistical Parameter and Yield Analysis software.

Simucad’s PDK-based IC layout design flow uses the Gateway Schematic Editor for schematic capture and simulation control, Expert Layout Editor, Guardian DRC/ERC/LPE/LVS, and HIPEX Full-chip parasitic extractor.

3D physics-based interconnect modeling software for passive components and interconnect parasitics includes EXACT Interconnect Parasitic Characterization, QUEST High Frequency Parasitic Extraction, CLEVER Physics-based Parasitic Extractor, STELLAR Characterization of Cell Parasitics.

Digital CAD products include the AccuCell and AccuCore library characterization products, Silos Verilog Simulator, HyperFault Mixed-Level Fault Simulator, and TurboLint Programmable HDL Checker

What about pricing and licensing?

At the heart of Simucad’s philosophy is the desire to provide all AMS/RF IC designers with easy access to the latest and most powerful design tools available, making our products the clear choice as opposed to high-priced tools from other EDA vendors. We will continue this philosophy, providing easy-to-access solutions for all AMS/RF IC design teams.

Over the next several months, licenses will be reissued for Simucad and Silvaco tools. Both set of tools use the same licensing software and methods of perpetual and time-based licenses. Rest assured that your investment in Silvaco tools will be preserved.

Who will support my Silvaco and Simucad products?

Within North America, Simucad’s staff will continue to sell and support Silvaco's line of products as they have done in the past and also support the Simucad products with offices in Santa Clara CA, Boston MA, Austin TX, and Phoenix AZ. Internationally, Silvaco’s offices in Yokohama Japan, Singapore, Hsin-chu Taiwan, Seoul South Korea, Cambridge UK, Grenoble France, and Munich Germany will continue to sell and support Silvaco's line of products as they have done in the past and also support the Simucad products. In addition, existing international distributors remain on board to sell and service your products in their respective territories. We will be adding additional distributors in new territories.