Silvaco

Silvaco is a United States-based provider of electronic design automation (EDA), technology computer-aided design (TCAD), and semiconductor intellectual property. Founded in 1984 by Ivan Pesic, the company develops software used to model semiconductor manufacturing processes and devices, design and verify integrated circuits, analyze parasitic effects and variability, create and characterize standard-cell libraries, and simulate analog, mixed-signal, and radio-frequency circuits. It also licenses semiconductor design IP, including interface, processor, automotive, security, analog, memory, I/O, and foundation IP. The company serves a technically specialized segment of the semiconductor value chain. Its customers include semiconductor foundries, fabless chip companies, integrated device manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers, universities, and other organizations involved in chip development and manufacturing. Silvaco’s software is intended to help engineers move from process and device experimentation through circuit design, physical implementation, verification, modeling, and library development. Its TCAD portfolio is used for process and device simulation, while its EDA portfolio addresses custom IC design, analog and mixed-signal simulation, interconnect modeling, parasitic extraction, physical verification, and standard-cell characterization. Silvaco expanded beyond its original software base through a series of acquisitions. In 2003 it acquired Simucad, a logic-simulation EDA company, and later operated the acquired product line under the Simucad name before recombining it with Silvaco Data Systems in 2010. Under CEO David Dutton, the company added power-integrity analysis through Invarian and variability-analysis capabilities through Infiniscale in 2015. It entered semiconductor design IP through the acquisition of IPextreme in 2016 and expanded its extracted-netlist analysis and reduction capabilities with edXact. Subsequent acquisitions of SoC Solutions, NanGate, Coupling Wave Solutions, Dolphin Design memory-compiler technology, and POLYTEDA CLOUD broadened its IP, standard-cell, substrate-noise, embedded-memory, physical-verification, and cloud-enabled EDA offerings. Silvaco has also developed partnerships and licensing relationships to broaden its technology portfolio. In 2018 it announced cooperation with Purdue University and the Purdue Research Foundation concerning commercialization of the NEMO nanoelectronics modeling and atomistic-simulation tools. In 2019 it announced that Samsung Foundry semiconductor design IP would be marketed, licensed, and supported through Silvaco. The company remained privately held and internally funded for decades before beginning the process of becoming a public company in 2024. Silvaco announced an initial public offering on Nasdaq in April 2024, and reported IPO pricing of $19 per share in May 2024, with the offering described as raising $114 million. The company maintains its headquarters in Santa Clara and operates through offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. In August 2025, Wally Rhines became chief executive officer, succeeding Babak Taheri. Silvaco’s current strategic identity combines specialized semiconductor physics and manufacturing simulation with integrated-circuit design automation and licensable semiconductor IP.

Silvaco was founded in 1984 by Ivan Pesic and developed as a privately held semiconductor engineering software company. Its early identity was associated with semiconductor process and device modeling, an area commonly described as technology computer-aided design. TCAD allows engineers to investigate manufacturing processes, semiconductor structures, and device behavior through computational simulation before committing designs to fabrication. This specialization gave Silvaco a position adjacent to, but distinct from, the broader circuit-design automation market. The company expanded its EDA scope in 2003 by acquiring Simucad, a privately held developer of logic-simulation software founded in 1981. Silvaco subsequently relaunched the acquired EDA product line under the Simucad name. In February 2010, Simucad Design Automation and Silvaco Data Systems were merged back together, restoring a more unified company structure. During this period the business was known by several names, including Silvaco International and Silvaco Data Systems. After Pesic’s death in 2012, David Halliday became chief executive officer. David Dutton took over as CEO in 2015, during a period of deliberate portfolio expansion. That year Silvaco acquired Invarian, which supplied power-integrity analysis software, and Infiniscale, a French company focused on variability analysis. These additions complemented Silvaco’s existing circuit-design and semiconductor-modeling products by addressing the effects of power distribution and process variation on chip performance and yield. In 2016, Silvaco acquired IPextreme and entered a larger role in semiconductor design intellectual property. It also acquired edXact in France, adding tools for analysis, reduction, and comparison of extracted parasitic netlists. The company continued its IP expansion in 2017 through the acquisition of SoC Solutions. In 2018, it acquired NanGate, whose technology and services supported the creation, optimization, characterization, and validation of physical library IP. That year Silvaco also announced a relationship with Purdue University and the Purdue Research Foundation to commercialize the NEMO tool suite for nanoelectronics modeling and atomistic simulation. Babak Taheri became chief technology officer and executive vice president of products in 2018, then became CEO in 2019. Silvaco’s acquisitions in 2020 broadened its physical and memory-related capabilities. It acquired the assets of Coupling Wave Solutions, adding software for silicon-substrate noise analysis, and acquired memory-compiler technology from Dolphin Design. The latter expanded the company’s ability to provide embedded-memory IP for system-on-chip applications. In 2021, Silvaco acquired POLYTEDA CLOUD, a provider of physical-verification technology. The transaction added capabilities for rapid physical verification before mask generation and manufacturing, while also supporting cloud-based delivery of EDA tools. The company’s IP business also developed through external commercial relationships. In 2019, Silvaco announced that Samsung Foundry semiconductor design IP would be marketed, licensed, and supported through Silvaco. Its IP portfolio came to cover interface PHYs and controllers, automotive controllers, AMBA-related cores and subsystems, security cores, analog cores, embedded processors, analog front ends and codecs, standard-cell libraries, embedded memories, and I/O technologies. For most of its existence Silvaco was privately held and funded internally. In April 2024 it announced an initial public offering and Nasdaq listing. The IPO was priced in May 2024 at $19 per share, with the offering described as raising $114 million. This marked a major change in the company’s financing and governance profile. In August 2025, Wally Rhines became CEO. Silvaco now presents itself as a supplier spanning semiconductor process and device simulation, circuit and physical-design automation, analysis software, semiconductor libraries, and licensable design IP. Its headquarters remain in Santa Clara, California, supported by offices across North America, Europe, and Asia.

1. 2025Wally Rhines becomes CEO

   Wally Rhines became chief executive officer.

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2. 2024Initial public offering

   Silvaco announced and completed an IPO process, with pricing reported at $19 per share and proceeds described as $114 million.

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3. 2021POLYTEDA CLOUD acquisition

   Silvaco acquired POLYTEDA CLOUD to strengthen physical verification and cloud-enabled EDA delivery.

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4. 2020Coupling Wave Solutions and Dolphin Design transactions

   Silvaco acquired Coupling Wave Solutions assets and Dolphin Design memory-compiler technology.

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5. 2019Babak Taheri becomes CEO

   Babak Taheri moved from CTO and product leadership into the chief executive role.

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6. 2019Samsung Foundry IP relationship announced

   Silvaco announced that Samsung Foundry IP would be marketed, licensed, and supported through Silvaco.

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7. 2018NanGate acquisition and NEMO partnership

   Silvaco acquired NanGate and announced a Purdue-related commercialization partnership for the NEMO nanoelectronics modeling tools.

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8. 2017SoC Solutions acquisition

   Silvaco acquired SoC Solutions, adding further semiconductor IP capabilities.

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9. 2016Silvaco enters semiconductor IP

   The acquisition of IPextreme added semiconductor design IP, while the acquisition of edXact expanded extracted-netlist analysis capabilities.

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10. 2015Power-integrity and variability expansion

    Silvaco appointed David Dutton as CEO and acquired Invarian and Infiniscale.

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11. 2012David Halliday becomes CEO

    David Halliday was appointed CEO after the death of founder Ivan Pesic.

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12. 2010Simucad and Silvaco Data Systems are recombined

    Simucad Design Automation and Silvaco Data Systems were merged back together.

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13. 2006Simucad product-line relaunch

    Silvaco relaunched the acquired EDA product line under the Simucad name.

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14. 2003Acquisition of Simucad

    Silvaco acquired Simucad, a privately held provider of logic-simulation EDA software.

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15. 1984Silvaco is founded

    Ivan Pesic founded the company, which developed software for semiconductor engineering and technology computer-aided design.

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A specialized semiconductor engineering platform combining TCAD, analog and mixed-signal EDA, custom IC design, physical analysis, library automation, and semiconductor IP.

• Victory ProcessTCAD process simulation

  A two-dimensional and three-dimensional process simulator used to model semiconductor manufacturing steps and investigate how process conditions affect device structures. It supports process-development and technology-engineering workflows in which engineers evaluate fabrication sequences before production.

• Victory DeviceTCAD device simulation

  A two-dimensional and three-dimensional semiconductor device simulator for analyzing electrical behavior and device performance. It is intended for technology development, device optimization, and physical investigation of semiconductor structures.

• Virtual Wafer FabTCAD manufacturing emulation

  A virtual manufacturing environment that emulates wafer-fabrication operations. It is used for design-of-experiments, process optimization, and exploration of manufacturing trade-offs without requiring every experiment to be performed on production equipment.

• SmartSpiceAnalog and mixed-signal simulation

  An analog circuit simulator for evaluating circuit behavior, performance, and device interactions. It is part of Silvaco’s analog and mixed-signal EDA portfolio and supports simulation-based design verification.

• SmartSpice RFRF circuit simulation

  A radio-frequency circuit simulator supporting frequency-domain and time-domain analysis. It is intended for the design and evaluation of RF and mixed-signal circuits where high-frequency behavior is central to performance.

• Utmost IVDevice characterization and SPICE modeling

  A tool for semiconductor-device characterization and SPICE model development. It helps engineers convert measured or simulated device behavior into models suitable for circuit simulation and design flows.

• GatewayCustom IC design

  A schematic-editor product for custom integrated-circuit design. It provides the schematic capture foundation for circuit entry and supports downstream simulation and layout activities.

• ExpertCustom IC layout

  A layout editor for custom integrated circuits. It is used to create and inspect physical representations of circuits and to prepare designs for physical verification and manufacturing-oriented analysis.

• GuardianPhysical verification

  A physical-verification tool covering design-rule checking and layout-versus-schematic verification. These checks help identify manufacturing-rule violations and discrepancies between intended circuit connectivity and physical layout.

• HipexParasitic extraction

  A full-chip parasitic-extraction product that derives resistance, capacitance, and related interconnect effects from physical designs. Its outputs can be used in post-layout simulation and timing or signal-integrity analysis.

• JivaroParasitic reduction and analysis

  A tool for analyzing and reducing extracted parasitic netlists. It helps designers manage the size and complexity of post-layout models while retaining effects relevant to circuit behavior.

• VarManVariability analysis

  A high-sigma variability-analysis product for studying how manufacturing and device variations affect circuit performance. It supports statistical design and the investigation of low-probability but important performance outcomes.

• CleverInterconnect modeling

  A parasitic-extraction and interconnect-modeling product designed to represent realistic three-dimensional structures. It addresses the electrical effects of complex physical geometries in advanced semiconductor designs.

• CelloStandard-cell library development

  A platform for creating, migrating, and optimizing standard-cell libraries. It helps library teams build reusable physical and logical components for semiconductor design flows and adapt libraries to new technologies.

• ViolaCell characterization

  A standard-cell and I/O-cell characterization tool. It generates and evaluates library data used to describe timing, power, signal behavior, and other characteristics required by chip implementation and analysis tools.

• Liberty AnalyzerLibrary-data analysis

  A tool for analyzing and validating Liberty-format timing, power, noise, and area data. It is intended to improve the quality and consistency of standard-cell and I/O library information used in downstream design automation.

• Silvaco Semiconductor IP portfolioSemiconductor design IP

  Silvaco’s IP portfolio includes interface PHYs and controllers, automotive controllers, AMBA-related cores and subsystems, security cores, analog cores, embedded processors, analog front ends and codecs, standard-cell libraries, embedded memories, and I/O technologies. The portfolio was expanded through acquisitions and commercial relationships, including IPextreme, SoC Solutions, NanGate, Dolphin Design memory technology, and Samsung Foundry IP.

• 2019Samsung Foundry IP marketing and licensing relationship

  Global semiconductor industry

  Silvaco announced that Samsung Foundry semiconductor design IP would be marketed, licensed, and supported through Silvaco, strengthening its position as an IP channel alongside its EDA activities.

  Outcome. The arrangement broadened Silvaco’s commercial IP offering and connected its customers with Samsung Foundry-related design assets.

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• 2018NEMO commercialization partnership

  United States · Academic and advanced semiconductor research

  Silvaco announced a partnership with Purdue University and the Purdue Research Foundation concerning commercialization of the NEMO tool suite for nanoelectronics modeling and atomistic simulation.

  Outcome. The partnership extended Silvaco’s technology scope toward research-oriented nanoelectronics and atomistic modeling.

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• 2024Complete initial public offeringOther

  After decades of private ownership and internal funding, Silvaco pursued access to public-market capital.

  What changed. The company announced a Nasdaq IPO, with pricing reported at $19 per share and proceeds described as $114 million.

  Aftermath. The offering changed Silvaco from a privately held company into a publicly traded EDA business.

  IPO proceeds. $114 million (May 2024 IPO pricing)

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• 2021Acquire POLYTEDA CLOUDM&A

  Physical verification and cloud delivery were strategic areas for expanding semiconductor design workflows.

  What changed. Silvaco acquired POLYTEDA CLOUD, a physical-verification solution provider.

  Aftermath. The acquisition expanded rapid physical verification before mask creation and manufacturing and supported cloud enablement for EDA tools.

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• 2020Acquire Coupling Wave Solutions assets and Dolphin Design memory technologyM&A

  Silvaco sought to improve substrate-noise analysis and expand its embedded-memory IP offering.

  What changed. It acquired the assets of Coupling Wave Solutions and memory-compiler technology from Dolphin Design.

  Aftermath. The transactions added silicon-substrate noise analysis and embedded memories for system-on-chip designs.

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• 2018Acquire NanGateM&A

  Library automation and physical-IP development were becoming important parts of the company’s broader EDA strategy.

  What changed. Silvaco acquired NanGate, a provider of tools and services for physical library IP.

  Aftermath. The acquisition strengthened standard-cell creation, optimization, characterization, and validation capabilities.

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• 2016Acquire IPextreme and edXactM&A

  Silvaco aimed to establish a semiconductor-IP business while strengthening post-layout parasitic analysis.

  What changed. It acquired IPextreme and edXact.

  Aftermath. Silvaco added licensable semiconductor IP and tools for analysis, reduction, and comparison of extracted parasitic netlists.

  Source
• 2015Acquire Invarian and InfiniscaleM&A

  Silvaco was broadening beyond core design tools into power integrity and manufacturing-variability analysis.

  What changed. The company acquired Invarian and French variability-analysis company Infiniscale.

  Aftermath. The transactions expanded Silvaco’s analysis capabilities for power distribution and statistical variation.

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• 2003Acquire SimucadM&A

  Silvaco sought to expand its EDA portfolio with logic-simulation capabilities.

  What changed. It acquired privately held Simucad and later relaunched the acquired product line under the Simucad name.

  Aftermath. Simucad Design Automation was subsequently recombined with Silvaco Data Systems in 2010.

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• 2025Wally Rhines becomes Silvaco chief executive

  EDA industry executive Wally Rhines became chief executive officer, succeeding Babak Taheri.

  Leadership change
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• 2024Silvaco announces initial public offering plans

  Silvaco announced plans for an initial public offering and a Nasdaq listing after decades as a privately held, internally funded company.

  M&AOther
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• 2024Silvaco prices IPO at $19 per share

  The company announced IPO pricing of $19 per share and an offering described as raising $114 million.

  Other
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1. Silvaco
2. Silvaco official website