The merger combines Synopsys’ EDA dominance with Ansys’ multiphysics simulation expertise, promising a new era of co-optimized chip and system design.
For decades, Synopsys has dominated semiconductor design with tools for RTL synthesis, place-and-route, verification, and IP integration. Ansys, by contrast, built its reputation on system-level simulation, excelling in computational fluid dynamics (CFD), finite element analysis (FEA), and electromagnetic modeling.
Synopsys president and CEO Sassine Ghazi speaks about the acquisition in a recent video.
So, when Synopsys announced its intent to acquire Ansys back in January 2024, it was clear that if such a deal were to go ahead, it could fundamentally reshape the electronic design automation (EDA) space.
Now, with the $35 billion acquisition finalized, Synopsys has united two of the industry’s most powerful tool providers in a move that positions it to offer a truly unified silicon-to-systems design platform, bridging the historically separate domains of chip implementation and multiphysics system simulation.
Bridging Electronics and Physics
The complexity of modern SoCs and heterogeneous systems means that electrical, thermal, and mechanical constraints must be solved concurrently rather than sequentially. Traditionally, chip designers focused on electrical performance, only to hand off late-stage prototypes to mechanical engineers who would discover heat dissipation or packaging failures—often too late in the process to avoid costly redesigns. The Synopsys-Ansys combination promises to bridge this divide.
The heart of this strategy lies in integrating Ansys’ multiphysics engines with Synopsys’ implementation flow. Tools like RedHawk-SC, known for power integrity and thermal analysis, will now be coupled directly with Fusion Compiler and 3DIC Compiler. This means designers can identify thermal hotspots, IR-drop issues, and mechanical stress during floorplanning and routing, rather than in post-layout signoff. It’s a move toward true “shift-left” verification, where physics-aware optimizations are embedded earlier in the design cycle.
This is particularly critical for 3DIC and chiplet-based designs, which have rapidly gained traction as Moore’s law slows. Interposer layouts, through-silicon vias (TSVs), and heterogeneous stacking introduce complex interactions between power delivery, heat dissipation, and signal integrity. By combining Synopsys’ expertise in advanced node design with Ansys’ simulation depth, engineering teams will have a clearer view of how these factors interact in real time.
The merger also accelerates the capabilities of Synopsys.ai, the company’s machine-learning-driven optimization framework. With Ansys’ data-rich simulation models feeding into AI-driven design space exploration, Synopsys aims to automate not just timing closure or power optimization but cross-domain trade-offs. Such automation can balance electrical performance against thermal behavior, mechanical constraints, and even electromagnetic interference.
More Than Simulation Expertise
Ansys brings more than simulation expertise with deep market penetration in industries where Synopsys has historically had limited reach, such as automotive, aerospace, defense, and industrial systems. These sectors rely on digital twins, CFD, and FEA to validate designs before manufacturing. Now, with Ansys’ technologies folded into the Synopsys stack, chip designers targeting these markets will have direct access to system-level modeling that accounts for the full operational environment of their products.
Synopsys hopes that its Ansys acquisition will help engineers design solutions with a deeper integration of electronics and physics, augmented by AI.
This synergy extends beyond traditional semiconductor markets. As electronic systems become increasingly software-defined and AI-driven, the ability to co-optimize the chip, the package, and the physical system it inhabits is invaluable. The combined company will be able to simulate electromagnetic fields, thermal dissipation, and mechanical stresses alongside the RTL logic and floorplanning steps, a holistic approach that few competitors can currently match.
Financially, this acquisition expands Synopsys’ total addressable market to $31 billion, up from its previous $19 billion in EDA alone. Analysts have noted that this broader portfolio will make Synopsys a stronger competitor not only to Cadence and Siemens EDA but also to niche simulation players that may struggle to match this end-to-end offering.
First Integrated Toolsets Ready by 2026
With the acquisition now complete, the impact on customers will unfold over the next 12 to 24 months. Synopsys has already announced that the first integrated toolsets are slated for early 2026, with a focus on multi-die packaging and thermal-aware layout flows. The first wave of integration will likely see RedHawk-SC embedded within Fusion Compiler for concurrent IR-drop and thermal checks during placement and routing.
By 2027, expect to see deeper coupling between Synopsys.ai and Ansys’ multiphysics solvers, enabling automated workflows that can weigh electrical, mechanical, and thermal design constraints simultaneously. For industries like automotive, where functional safety and thermal reliability are paramount, this will represent a significant step forward. A digital twin of the entire electronic system, from transistor switching to under-the-hood thermal performance, could become part of the standard verification process.
For now, Synopsys has promised continuity: All Ansys tools will remain fully supported, and existing customers will not be forced into abrupt migrations. However, over the next few years, users of both platforms can expect tighter interoperability, shared databases, and new co-simulation features that will fundamentally change how design teams collaborate across disciplines.
All images used courtesy of Synopsys.
