Magma Design Automation was a

software Software consists of computer programs that instruct the Execution (computing), execution of a computer. Software also includes design documents and specifications. The history of software is closely tied to the development of digital comput ...

company in the

electronic design automation Electronic design automation (EDA), also referred to as electronic computer-aided design (ECAD), is a category of software tools for designing Electronics, electronic systems such as integrated circuits and printed circuit boards. The tools wo ...

(EDA) industry. The company was founded in 1997 and maintained headquarters in San Jose,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, with facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Magma software products were used in major elements of

integrated circuit design Integrated circuit design, semiconductor design, chip design or IC design, is a sub-field of electronics engineering, encompassing the particular Boolean logic, logic and circuit design techniques required to design integrated circuits (ICs). A ...

, including: synthesis, placement, routing, power management,

circuit simulation Electronic circuit simulation uses mathematical models to replicate the behavior of an actual electronic device or circuit. Simulation software allows for the modeling of circuit operation and is an invaluable analysis tool. Due to its highly ac ...

, verification and analog/mixed-signal design. Magma was acquired by

Synopsys Synopsys, Inc. is an American electronic design automation (EDA) company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that focuses on silicon design and verification, silicon intellectual property and software security and quality. Synopsys sup ...

in a merger finalized February 22, 2012 at a cash value of about $523 million, or $7.35 per share.

History

Magma was founded in 1997 by a team including Rajeev Madhavan, who was chairman, CEO and president from the company's inception. The company initially competed primarily with

Cadence In Classical music, Western musical theory, a cadence () is the end of a Phrase (music), phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution (music), resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don ...

and

Avanti Corporation Synopsys, Inc. is an American electronic design automation (EDA) company headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, that focuses on silicon design and verification, silicon intellectual property and software security and quality. Synopsys suppl ...

in physical design but eventually broadened its product portfolio and competed with all three of the largest established EDA companies:

Mentor Graphics Mentor Graphics Corporation was a US-based electronic design automation (EDA) multinational corporation for electrical engineering and electronics, headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon. Founded in 1981, the company distributed products that ass ...

and

. Magma had a particularly strong presence in the convergence device segment through key customers such as Qualcomm, Broadcom and Texas Instruments. In 2001 Roy Jewell joined Magma as chief operating officer and later that year added the title of president. Magma completed an initial public offering on Nasdaq, under the ticker symbol LAVA, on November 20, 2001 — the last EDA company to go public — and achieved its peak annual revenue of $214.4 million in its 2008 fiscal year. Magma was the fourth largest EDA company by revenue. In 2002 Magma was named to the Red Herring 100 for innovation and business strategy. In 2005 Forbes ranked Magma No. 2 on its list of fastest-growing technology companies.

Patent Dispute

Magma was involved in a legal dispute with Synopsys beginning in September 2004, when Synopsys sued Magma for allegedly infringing two patents. Claims and counter-claims accelerated, resulting in separate court cases in California and Delaware, and a number of disputed patents. On March 29, 2007, Magma and Synopsys announced the companies had agreed to settle all pending litigation between them. As part of the settlement Magma made a $12.5 million payment to Synopsys and each company cross-licensed four previously disputed patents to the other.

Synopsys Acquisition

On November 30, 2011, Magma and

announced they had entered into a definitive agreement by which Synopsys would buy Magma for $507 million US$. The merger was finalized on February 22, 2012, with cash value of the transaction at about $523 million, or $7.35 per Magma share."Synopsys Completes Acquisition of Magma Design Automation,” February 22, 201

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References

External links

Magma homepage
{{Programmable Logic Electronic design automation companies Companies based in San Jose, California Companies established in 1997 Defunct software companies of the United States