U.S. chip-design software company Synopsys is phasing out active development of a suite of manufacturing process control and analytics software used by global semiconductor fabricators, according to six sources briefed on the decision. The company informed more than 10 chipmakers in April and May that it will move those products to an "end of life" status, meaning new versions will not be issued and the firm will limit its obligations to maintenance, two of the sources said.
The affected product set includes the Equipment Engineering System (EES) and Fault Detection and Classification (FDC), which customers use to monitor semiconductor fabrication lines and detect anomalies before they escalate into costly defects, the two sources said. Synopsys began offering EES after acquiring semiconductor manufacturing solutions from South Korea's BISTel in 2021, one source noted.
A Synopsys spokesperson confirmed the company is discontinuing some legacy manufacturing analytics products to allow resources to be concentrated on higher-value offerings, without naming the specific tools. The spokesperson described the affected items as older diagnostic tools that are not in customers' critical production paths and said the company will continue investing in new capabilities in that portfolio while honoring all existing contractual and support obligations.
Multiple sources said Synopsys has already laid off a few dozen employees associated with these offerings. One source added that Synopsys intends to finish negotiations with each chipmaker on the scope of maintenance obligations by July. The company declined to disclose details about layoffs when asked, according to a source.
Industry contacts described several motives behind the decision. One source said Synopsys has aimed to remove itself from support and maintenance obligations tied to certain IP services so it can reassign engineering staff to higher-margin AI design work. The company has been making a strategic push into AI-enabled chip-design technologies; in March it introduced a technology it said would enable AI agents to assume many tasks in chip creation. Synopsys also completed a $35 billion acquisition of engineering software firm Ansys in 2025, a transaction noted by one of the sources.
Reactions among customers diverged. Some sources warned that retiring these tools could create risks for production yields because the software requires continuous maintenance, updates and patches to perform as intended. However, four other sources said they did not anticipate production impacts at major chipmakers.
Customers' own development efforts were also a factor in Synopsys' decision, according to multiple sources. Enhancing the EES offering, they said, would require chipmakers to share sensitive manufacturing data. In parallel, some clients, including Samsung Electronics, have been developing in-house alternatives, which has reduced the competitiveness of Synopsys' manufacturing analytics products, two sources said.
Samsung confirmed it was notified of the end-of-life decision and said it is in active discussions with Synopsys about the product phase-out. A Samsung spokesperson stated that the company had prepared compatible replacements and did not expect negative effects on production. SK Hynix declined to comment. Kioxia and Qorvo did not respond to requests for comment.
Sources said Synopsys' manufacturing analytics tools have long served as a central software layer helping determine equipment workflows and detect faults across complex fabrication processes. The company has been a significant supplier of software used in planning chip layouts and related diagnostics for decades, the sources said.
The company spokesperson reiterated that while certain older diagnostic tools are being discontinued, Synopsys continues to invest in new capabilities and will honor all contractual and support commitments. The spokesperson did not provide further details about timelines or the number of personnel affected.
As Synopsys shifts engineering focus toward AI design offerings, affected chipmakers are reportedly evaluating maintenance agreements, migrating to internal solutions, or adopting compatible third-party alternatives. Whether the withdrawal of Synopsys' legacy manufacturing analytics will have measurable effects on production yields appears to depend on each customer's existing in-house capabilities and preparedness for the software's sunset.
Key developments:
- Synopsys informed more than 10 chipmakers in April and May that certain manufacturing analytics products will reach end-of-life and will no longer receive new versions, two sources said.
- The products identified by sources include Equipment Engineering System (EES) and Fault Detection and Classification (FDC), software used to monitor fabrication processes and spot anomalies.
- Synopsys cited a strategic move to concentrate engineering resources on higher-margin AI design offerings and said it will continue to support existing maintenance obligations.