By Jai Durgam, India Technical Director and Jack Chen, Director of Design Consulting Synopsys, Inc.
The early years of the 21st century have seen an explosive growth in the consumption of consumer electronics and wireless communication devices. While the US continues to be the leading consumer of electronics, the growth has been fueled in part by the increased appetite for the same from double-digit growth economies such as those in India and China. The same growth has resulted in much shorter design cycles and increased focus on costs in chip development. Systems and semiconductor companies are continuously evaluating their core competencies to determine which activities are most efficiently completed in-house and which can be outsourced. Geographies such as India, China, Vietnam, and Eastern Europe are natural locations for delivering semiconductor design services because of their abundance of technical talent and burgeoning consumer economies.
Perhaps as recently as three years ago, the complexity of the typical chip being designed in India was a generation or two behind the most advanced chips being developed by the leading semiconductor companies in Japan, Europe and the US. We can see in our customer base that this is no longer the case; designers in India now often work on chips at the same process nodes as their counterparts in the world’s other major technology centers. However, in addition to advanced embedded processor cores and SoCs, India’s lower cost basis also makes it an ideal place to design chips destined for price-sensitive markets. This includes highly competitive, cost-driven applications such as mobile communication and consumer electronics as well as derivative products specifically customized for high-growth markets such as those in China and India.
The mixture of design work being performed in India is also reflected in the diversity of those performing the work. We see three primary types of design companies: large multinationals with global design centers, homegrown fabless semiconductor companies, and design services providers. The latter category is made up of a growing number of qualified services companies and consultants that offer everything from niche services to full turnkey solutions. In particular, Indian design service providers specialize in design services for functional verification, implementation, physical design, and embedded software development.
Synopsys in India
Synopsys has a significant presence in India, with over 500 employees currently. Our employees perform a variety of functions, from R&D to account management and support. A significant portion of Synopsys’ field organization in India is dedicated to assisting customers with their designs through a portfolio of training, support and services. Included in this team are design consultants from Synopsys Professional Services.
You can reach Jai Durgam at Jai.Durgam@synopsys.com.
