Synopsys is winding down a set of manufacturing process control products used inside semiconductor factories as it redirects development efforts to artificial intelligence design software, according to six people familiar with the decision.
The U.S. chip design firm notified over 10 chipmakers in April and May that it would stop offering the affected process-control applications. Named customers include Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, Kioxia Holdings Corp and Qorvo Inc.
The products being discontinued encompass the Equipment Engineering System and the Fault Detection and Classification package. Those automation tools perform factory-floor monitoring in semiconductor fabrication plants and are designed to identify equipment anomalies and irregularities before such events produce defects in wafers.
Under the change, Synopsys will not produce future versions of these software products. The company has committed only to fulfilling maintenance obligations for existing installations rather than continuing active development or feature releases. In connection with the decision, Synopsys has laid off several dozen employees who had worked on the affected offerings.
The company’s move shifts engineering and product resources away from factory automation toward its ambitions in artificial-intelligence-driven design products. The notification timeline to customer partners and the staffing reductions were carried out in April and May, per sources familiar with the matter.
Customers relying on the Equipment Engineering System and the Fault Detection and Classification software will retain maintenance coverage, but they should expect no new releases from Synopsys for these specific products going forward. The exact scope of ongoing maintenance support and transition plans for individual customers were not detailed by the sources.
Summary
Synopsys will discontinue two manufacturing process-control software products used by semiconductor fabs, notify more than 10 customers including major memory and component makers in April and May, cease future releases while honouring maintenance commitments, and has laid off several dozen employees tied to these products.