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Synopsys, Inc. is a global leader in electronic design automation (EDA) software, providing products and services that enable the design and testing of integrated circuits (ICs) and electronic systems . The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor intellectual property (IP) products, as well as software tools and services aimed at improving software security and quality . Synopsys' business is organized into three main segments: Design Automation, Design IP, and Software Integrity, each contributing to its record revenue of $5.8 billion in fiscal 2023 .
- Design Automation - Provides EDA solutions including digital, custom, and FPGA IC design software, verification software and hardware products, and system integration products and services .
- Design IP - Offers a broad portfolio of pre-designed circuits used as components in larger chip designs, significantly contributing to the company's revenue .
- Software Integrity - Focuses on solutions that test software code for security vulnerabilities and quality defects, along with professional and managed services .
| Name | Position | External Roles | Short Bio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sassine Ghazi ExecutiveBoard | President and CEO | None | Joined Synopsys in 1998; became CEO in January 2024 after serving as COO and President. Has 25+ years of experience at Synopsys, driving innovation and operational excellence. | View Report → |
John F. Runkel, Jr. Executive | General Counsel and Secretary | None | General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since May 2014. Previously held legal leadership roles at Affymetrix, Intuitive Surgical, and VISX. | |
Richard Mahoney Executive | Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) | None | Joined Synopsys in May 2022 as Special Projects Advisor; became CRO in November 2022. Previously held senior roles at ANSYS and Global Foundries. | |
Shelagh Glaser Executive | Chief Financial Officer (CFO) | Board Member at PubMatic, Inc. | Joined Synopsys in December 2022. Previously CFO at Zendesk and held senior finance roles at Intel. Brings extensive financial leadership experience. | |
Aart J. de Geus Board | Executive Chair of the Board | Board Member at Applied Materials, Inc. | Co-founded Synopsys in 1986; served as CEO until December 2023. Transitioned to Executive Chair in January 2024. Pioneer in the EDA industry with extensive leadership experience. | |
Bruce R. Chizen Board | Director | Board Member at ChargePoint Holdings, Informatica Corporation, and Oracle Corporation; Senior Adviser at Permira Advisers LLP | Joined Synopsys Board in April 2001. Former CEO of Adobe, with extensive experience in managing global technology organizations. | |
Janice D. Chaffin Board | Director | Board Member at Informatica Corporation and PTC Inc. | Joined Synopsys Board in December 2014. Former Group President of Symantec’s Consumer Business Unit. Brings expertise in cybersecurity, governance, and executive compensation. | |
Jeannine P. Sargent Board | Director | Board Member at Fortive Corporation; Senior Advisor at Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Generation Investment Management LLP | Joined Synopsys Board in August 2020. Former President at Flex Ltd. Brings expertise in innovation, ESG, and global operations. | |
John G. Schwarz Board | Lead Independent Director | Chairman of Visier, Inc.; Board Member at Teradata Corporation and Mambu BD | Joined Synopsys Board in May 2007. Co-founder and former CEO of Visier, Inc. Brings expertise in analytics, cybersecurity, and global operations. | |
Luis Borgen Board | Director | Board Member at Carter’s, Inc. and Eastern Bankshares, Inc. | Joined Synopsys Board in May 2022. Former CFO of athenahealth, VistaPrint, and DAVIDsTEA. Brings 25+ years of financial leadership experience. | |
Marc N. Casper Board | Director | President, CEO, and Chairman of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.; Board Member at Wesleyan University, Mass General Brigham, and U.S.-China Business Council | Joined Synopsys Board in May 2022. Extensive leadership experience as CEO of Thermo Fisher Scientific, driving growth and innovation. | |
Mercedes Johnson Board | Director | Board Member at Analog Devices, Inc. and Teradyne, Inc. | Joined Synopsys Board in February 2017. Former CFO of Avago Technologies and Lam Research. Brings financial expertise and semiconductor industry experience. | |
Robert G. Painter Board | Director | President, CEO, and Board Member at Trimble Inc. | Joined Synopsys Board in August 2023. CEO of Trimble Inc., with expertise in global business strategy, M&A, and finance. |
- Given the significant second-half weighting in your fiscal '25 revenue guidance, what specific factors give you confidence in achieving these targets, especially considering potential customer delays in hardware installations and IP pull-downs?
- How might the recent updates from the Department of Commerce on U.S. semiconductor and EDA software export restrictions impact your fiscal '25 outlook, particularly with customers added to the entity list, and what measures are you taking to mitigate potential revenue risks?
- Your operating margin guidance of 40% for fiscal '25 suggests higher profitability despite a slowdown in projected revenue growth; is this primarily driven by cost-cutting measures, reduced M&A activity, or other factors, and how sustainable are these margin improvements long term?
- With an ending backlog of $8.1 billion, flat year-over-year, and considering geopolitical uncertainties and potential delays in foundry investments, how do you plan to drive revenue growth in fiscal '25 without significantly drawing down backlog, and what risks do you foresee to backlog progression?
- Given the rapid expansion of AI and hyperscaler investments as growth drivers, how might capacity constraints like space and power limitations for hardware installations affect your hardware business growth in fiscal '25, and what strategies are you employing to address these challenges?
Competitors mentioned in the company's latest 10K filing.
| Company | Description |
|---|---|
In the Design Automation segment, the company competes against other EDA vendors and against customers' own design tools and internal design capabilities. The EDA industry is highly competitive, and the company competes principally on technology leadership, product quality and features, license terms, price and payment terms, post-contract customer support, flexibility of tool use, and interoperability with its own and other vendors' products. The company also competes in the Design IP segment against numerous other IP providers, including this competitor, and customers' internally developed IP. The competition is based on product quality, reliability, features, availability of titles for new manufacturing processes, ease of integration with customer designs, compatibility with design tools, license terms, price and payment terms, and customer support. | |
Siemens EDA | In the Design Automation segment, the company competes against other EDA vendors and against customers' own design tools and internal design capabilities. The EDA industry is highly competitive, and the company competes principally on technology leadership, product quality and features, license terms, price and payment terms, post-contract customer support, flexibility of tool use, and interoperability with its own and other vendors' products. |
Notable M&A activity and strategic investments in the past 3 years.
| Company | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
Ansys | 2025 | Planned Acquisition: Synopsys is acquiring Ansys to enhance its Electronic Design Automation (EDA) and Simulation & Analysis software capabilities, with key regulatory approvals (from the EC, CMA, FTC, and SAMR) and a divestiture of Ansys’ PowerArtist business to Keysight Technologies as a condition for clearance, expected to close in the first half of 2025. |
Multiple Companies | 2023 | Completed Acquisitions: In 2023, Synopsys executed several acquisitions with an aggregate purchase consideration of $295.4 million (plus two additional deals worth $48.6 million net of cash), aimed at boosting its Design Automation segment through the acquisition and amortization of identified intangible assets and goodwill. |
WhiteHat Security | 2022 | Completed Acquisition: Synopsys acquired WhiteHat Security for $330.1 million in cash to expand its SaaS-based application security testing portfolio, with $249.9 million allocated to goodwill and $97.5 million to intangible assets, aligning with its strategy to enhance application security offerings and drive incremental revenue. |
OpenLight Photonics, Inc. | 2022 | Completed Acquisition: In Q2 2022, Synopsys purchased a 75% equity stake in OpenLight Photonics for $90.0 million in cash—with additional redemption features bringing total consideration to $100.1 million—allocating approximately $94.0 million to intangible assets and about $45.1–46.7 million to goodwill, to support expansion into new markets in the Semiconductor & System Design segment. |
Unnamed (Semiconductor & System Design) | 2022 | Completed Acquisition: In Q1 2022, Synopsys executed a non-material acquisition in its Semiconductor & System Design segment for $20.0 million net of cash, with a purchase price allocation of $4.3 million to identifiable intangible assets and $15.7 million to goodwill (which was not tax-deductible). |
Recent press releases and 8-K filings for SNPS.
- Synopsys and Samsung Foundry achieved a successful tape-out of an HBM3 customer design on Samsung’s SF2 process using Synopsys 3DIC Compiler, cutting turnaround time by 10×, reducing HBM routing time to 4 hours, and improving worst-case eye opening by 6%.
- Synopsys’ AI-driven digital and analog EDA flows, certified for Samsung’s SF2P process with hypercells and across SF2/SF4 generations, enable PPA optimization and faster development of advanced SoCs.
- A broad IP portfolio—including 224G, UCIe, MIPI, and LPDDR6—optimized for SF2P and SF4X delivers a low-risk path to silicon success and accelerates time-to-market for next-generation designs.
- Regulatory Impact: Synopsys detailed receiving a BIS letter that forced them to halt shipping certain products to China, while emphasizing active discussions with regulators to clarify allowable sales ( ).
- Market Guidance: The company acknowledged that the restrictions have already affected its quarterly revenue performance and indicated that revised guidance will be issued once regulatory implications are fully understood ( ).
- AI Strategy: Synopsys outlined significant enhancements in its EDA tools through AI-driven optimization and co-pilot features, projecting efficiency gains for design engineers and laying the groundwork for future autonomous design capabilities ( ).
- Synopsys filed an 8-K report on May 29, 2025, announcing the suspension of financial guidance for Q3 fiscal 2025 and the full fiscal year [index1].
- The company is assessing the impact of new export restrictions from a BIS Letter related to China [index2].
- The US administration imposed licensing requirements on EDA and semiconductor exports to China, including sales to subsidiaries, heightening US-China tech tensions.
- Major EDA providers, such as Synopsys, Cadence, and Siemens EDA, have suspended services and new orders for mainland China clients in response.
- Synopsys has suspended its Q3 and full-year 2025 financial forecasts amid uncertainty from the new controls.
- The measures aim to block military use and maintain US technological leadership, while Beijing labels them discriminatory and accelerates self-reliance efforts.
- Synopsys unveiled production-ready digital and analog EDA flows, certified for Intel 18A and production-ready for Intel 18A-P, aimed at accelerating advanced chip designs with improved power, performance, and area.
- The collaboration leverages a broad IP portfolio and integrated multi-die design solutions—featuring innovative packaging technologies such as RibbonFET and Intel’s PowerVia—to boost design quality and time-to-tapeout.
- Synopsys also expanded its partnership through membership in the Intel Foundry Accelerator Design Services and Chiplet Alliances, reinforcing its commitment to next-generation design optimization.
- Synopsys executives detailed how the growing complexity in semiconductor and system design is driving a need for advanced silicon and AI-powered solutions to accelerate innovation and reduce cost and time, citing the recent achievements with high-profile partners.
- The discussion highlighted a strategic roadmap that evolves from AI assistive tools like Copilot to autonomous agent engineers (spanning L1 to L5 levels), designed to optimize engineering workflows and verification processes.
- Collaboration with ecosystem partners such as Microsoft and NVIDIA was emphasized to further integrate reinforcement learning and generative AI into their EDA and IP solutions, ensuring scalability and enhanced productivity.
- Synopsys, Inc. filed an 8‑K on March 17, 2025, announcing the issuance of six series of Senior Notes with aggregate principal amounts ranging from $1.0 billion to $2.4 billion and fixed interest rates from 4.550% to 5.700%.
- The proceeds from the Notes are intended to partially fund the acquisition of ANSYS, Inc., covering acquisition expenses, transaction fees, and repayment of existing debt.