Press Release

Silicon Catalyst Startups Fast-Track Chip Development with Synopsys Cloud

Long-term In-Kind Partnership relationship now includes Cloud-based EDA & IP

Silicon Valley, Calif., September 8, 2025 – Silicon Catalyst, the only incubator + accelerator focused on the global semiconductor industry, including Chips, Chiplets, Materials, IP and Silicon fabrication-based Photonics, MEMS, Sensors, Life Science and Quantum, today announced that companies in its 24-month program will have access to Synopsys Cloud, expanding and simplifying their ability to leverage industry-leading Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software and IP for accelerated chip design and innovation.

Semiconductor startups face immense time-to-market pressure and with access to Synopsys EDA tools and IP through Synopsys Cloud they can begin designing chips sooner, saving the historical delays in setup time as compared to on-site EDA installations.

Silicon Catalyst has developed an unparalleled support ecosystem for our semiconductor start-ups, providing a strong network of Strategic Partners, technical and business advisors, investors and industry professionals who help companies launch and scale in the market. Equally important, our In-Kind Partner (IKP) program was launched shortly after our founding in 2015, with Synopsys as our inaugural partner.

“The partners at Silicon Catalyst, along with the majority of our 300+ advisors within our ecosystem, see Synopsys Cloud as an extraordinary asset for startup companies to fast track their innovative solutions. We have advised our Portfolio Companies to evaluate if the solution is a fit for their product roadmaps. Several Silicon Catalyst Portfolio Companies and alumni companies, including Applied Brain Research, Cambridge Terahertz, Espre Technologies, Mentium Technologies, Salience Labs and others, are using Synopsys Cloud for their chip design environment. There could not be a more resounding endorsement than this.” stated Nick Kepler, Chief Operating Officer of Silicon Catalyst. “I’m really excited to continue our strong working relationship with Synopsys, now offering our Portfolio Companies a great opportunity to get to tape-out sooner, and most importantly, to provide sample devices to their customers.”

The full Synopsys EDA and IP portfolio is available in the cloud-based environment, including pre-configured EDA flows on pre-optimized compute and assistive GenAI capabilities that further accelerate time-to-tape out. By combining pay-per-use FlexEDA licensing with powerful cloud scalability, Synopsys Cloud lets designers realize significant run-time speed-up of their jobs, by flexing the number of licenses and cores needed at any stage of the design.

“At Synopsys, we recognize that access to world-class EDA tools and IP is crucial for startups to accelerate their innovation and achieve rapid tape-out,” said Vikram Bhatia, Head of Cloud Product Management at Synopsys. “Our collaboration with Silicon Catalyst enables incubated startups to leverage the full power of Synopsys Cloud, providing them with the scalable design environment and trusted EDA-on-cloud expertise they need to quickly turn ideas into silicon. By removing traditional barriers to advanced chip design, we’re helping the next generation of semiconductor companies bring breakthrough products to market faster.”

Note: Silicon Catalyst will be exhibiting at the AI Infra Summit, Sept. 9-11, at the Santa Clara Convention Center. Stop by booth #831 to speak with one of our team members. Also, in collaboration with EE Times, Silicon Catalyst will co-host a panel discussion on the impact of AI-driven EDA on semiconductor startups, moderated by EE Times editor, Sally Ward-Foxton. Stop by the Demo Stage on the exhibition floor on Wednesday, September 10, at 3:45pm, to listen in on our panel of experts including Laura Swan, General Partner at Silicon Catalyst Ventures, and Synopsys’ Arun Venkatachar, VP AI, Cloud & Central Engineering.