US Export Rules Hit Synopsys in China
So, guess what's going on with Synopsys, this big semiconductor design software company? They've apparently told their folks in China to basically stop everything, like selling stuff and taking new orders. It's all because of some new rules the U.S. government put out.
Reuters got a peek at a letter they sent to their staff there, and it sounds pretty serious. The U.S. is telling a whole bunch of companies to stop shipping things to China unless they have a special permission, and they've even taken away some permissions that were already given. This happened last Wednesday, according to people in the know. Things like the software used to design chips and even the chemicals needed are part of these restrictions.
Synopsys even hit pause on their money predictions for the year and the next few months. They got a letter from the government telling them about these new export rules for China. The letter they sent to their team in China on Friday said that, from what they understand so far, these new rules pretty much stop them from selling their products and services there, and it started on May 29, 2025.
To make sure they're doing things right, Synopsys said they're stopping all sales and deliveries in China and won't take any new orders until they get more info. This affects everyone in China who uses their stuff, even people working there for global companies and Chinese military users no matter where they are. This whole thing with Synopsys hasn't really been talked about before. Synopsys didn't want to say anything about it.
Okay, so Synopsys is one of the top dogs in this electronic design automation, or EDA, software world. There are two other big ones, Cadence and Siemens EDA. Chipmakers use this software to design all kinds of chips, for everything from your phone to your car. If Chinese companies can't get their hands on these EDA tools, it's a pretty big deal for that industry. Chinese chip designers really rely on this top-notch U.S. software. Xinhua, a Chinese news agency, said back in April that Synopsys, Cadence, and Siemens' Mentor Graphics basically control over 70% of the EDA market in China.
Some Chinese companies that use Synopsys and Cadence software include Brite Semiconductor, Zhuhai Jieli, and VeriSilicon, which provides intellectual property for chips. The letter Synopsys sent to their staff in China on Friday also mentioned that Chinese customers can't even get into their customer support website, SolvNetPlus, anymore.
