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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 assist in electronic design automation, simulation tools for analog mixed-signal design, VPN solutions, and fluid dynamics and heat transfer tools. The company leveraged Apollo Computer workstations to differentiate itself within the computer-aided engineering (CAE) market with its software and hardware.

Key Information

Mentor Graphics was acquired by Siemens in 2017. The name was retired in 2021 and renamed Siemens EDA, a segment of Siemens Digital Industries Software.

History

[edit]

Mentor Graphics was founded in 1981 by Tom Bruggere, Gerry Langeler, and Dave Moffenbeier, all formerly of Tektronix.[6] The company raised $55 million in funding through an initial public offering in 1984.[6]

Mentor initially wrote software that ran only in Apollo workstations.[7]

When Mentor entered the CAE market the company had two technical differentiators: the first was the software – Mentor, Valid, and Daisy each had software with different strengths and weaknesses. The second, was the hardware – Mentor ran all programs on the Apollo workstation, while Daisy and Valid each built their own hardware. By the late 1980s, all EDA companies abandoned proprietary hardware in favor of workstations manufactured by companies such as Apollo and Sun Microsystems.

After a frenzied development, the IDEA 1000 product was introduced at the 1982 Design Automation Conference, though in a suite and not on the floor.[8]

Mentor Graphics was purchased by Siemens in 2017. The name was retired in 2021 and renamed Siemens EDA, a segment of Siemens Digital Industries Software.[9]

Acquisitions

[edit]

Timeline

[edit]
Year announced Company Business Value (USD) References
1995 Microtec Research Software development $130 million [10]
1999 VeriBest EDA subsidiary of Intergraph Corp. not disclosed [11][12]
2002 Accelerated Technology RTOS & embedded software not disclosed [13]
2002 Innoveda Printed circuit board & wire harness design $160 million [14]
2002 IKOS Systems Emulation product $124 million [15]
2004 Project Technology Executable UML not disclosed [16]
2007 Sierra Design Automation Place and route $90 million [17]
2008 Flomerics Computational fluid dynamics $59.72 million [18]
2009 LogicVision Silicon manufacturing testing $13 million [19]
2010 Valor Computerized Systems PCB systems manufacturing $82 million [20]
2010 CodeSourcery GNU-based tools not disclosed [21]
2014 Nimbic Electromagnetic simulation not disclosed [22]
2014 Berkeley Design Automation AMS circuit verification not disclosed [23]
2015 Tanner EDA AMS & MEMS integrated circuits not disclosed [24]
2015 Calypto Design Systems High level synthesis not disclosed [25]
[edit]
  • In June 2008, Cadence Design Systems offered to acquire Mentor Graphics in a leveraged buyout. On 15 August 2008, Cadence withdrew this offer quoting an inability to raise the necessary capital and the unwillingness of Mentor Graphics' Board and management to discuss the offer.[26]
  • In February 2011, activist investor Carl Icahn offered to buy the company for about $1.86 billion in cash.[27]
  • In November 2016, Mentor Graphics announced that it was to be acquired by Siemens for $4.5 billion,[28] at $37.25 per share, a 21% premium on Mentor's closing price on the previous Friday.[29] The acquisition was completed in March 2017.[30] At the time, this represented Siemens' biggest deal in the industrial software sector.[31] Mentor Graphics started to operate as "Mentor, a Siemens Business".[32] Under the terms of the acquisition, Mentor Graphics kept its headquarters in Wilsonville with workforce intact, and operated as an independent subsidiary.[1]
  • In January 2021, Mentor became a division of Siemens and was renamed as Siemens EDA.[33]

Locations

[edit]

Mentor product development was located in the US, Taiwan, Egypt, Poland, Hungary, Japan, France, Canada, Pakistan, UK, Armenia, India and Russia.

Products

[edit]

Mentor offered the following tools:

Electronic design automation

[edit]

Embedded systems

[edit]
  • Mentor Embedded Linux[35] for ARM, MIPS, Power, and x86 architecture processors
  • Real-time operating systems:
    • Nucleus OS (acquired in 2002 when Mentor acquired Accelerated Technology, Inc.)
    • VRTX (acquired in 1995 when Mentor bought Microtec Research)
  • AUTOSAR implementation:
    • Embedded implementation VSTAR in part acquired from Mecel in 2013[36]
    • Configuration tooling Volcano Vehicle Systems Builder (VSB)
  • Development Tools:
    • Sourcery CodeBench and Sourcery GNU toolchains (acquired in 2010 when Mentor acquired CodeSourcery)
  • Inflexion UI – (Next Device was acquired by Mentor in 2006)
    • xtUML Design Tools: BridgePoint (acquired in 2004 when Mentor acquired Project Technology)
  • VPN Solutions:

FPGA synthesis

[edit]
  • Precision Synthesis – Advanced RTL & physical synthesis for FPGAs

Electrical systems, cabling, and harness

[edit]
  • Capital – a suite of integrated tools for the design, validation and manufacture of electrical systems and harnesses
  • VeSys – a mid-market toolset for vehicle electrical system and harness design

Simulation

[edit]
  • ModelSim is a hardware simulation and debug environment primarily targeted at smaller ASIC and FPGA design
  • QuestaSim is a simulator with advanced debug capabilities targeted at complex FPGA's and SoC's. QuestaSim can be used by users who have experience with ModelSim as it shares most of the common debug features and capabilities. One of the main differences between QuestaSim and Modelsim (besides performance/capacity) is that QuestaSim is the simulation engine for the Questa Platform which includes integration of Verification Management, Formal based technologies, Questa Verification IP, Low Power Simulation and Accelerated Coverage Closure technologies. QuestaSim natively supports SystemVerilog for Testbench, UPF, UCIS, OVM/UVM whereas ModelSim does not.
  • Eldo is a SPICE simulator
  • Xpedition AMS is a virtual lab for mechatronic system design and analysis
  • ADiT is a Fast-SPICE simulator
  • Questa ADMS is a mixed-signal verification tool

Emulation

[edit]

Mechanical design

[edit]
  • Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer tools:
    • Simcenter Flotherm is a Computational Fluid Dynamics tool dedicated to electronics cooling using parameterized 'SmartParts' for common electronic components such as fans, heatsinks, and IC packages.
    • Simcenter Flotherm XT is an electronics cooling CFD tool incorporating a solid modeler for manipulating MCAD parts.
    • Simcenter FLOEFD is a 'design concurrent' CFD tool for use in early-stage product design and is embedded within MCAD systems such as Solidworks, Creo Elements/Pro, CATIA V5 and Siemens NX.
  • Thermal Characterization and Thermal Interface Material (TIM) Measurement equipment:
    • Simcenter T3STER is a hardware product that embodies an implementation of the JEDEC JESD51-1 standard for IC package thermal characterization and is compliant with JESD51-14 for Rth-JC measurement.
    • Simcenter TERALED provides automation of the CIE 127:2007 standard providing total flux, chromaticity and correlated color temperature (CCT) for power LEDs. With T3Ster it provides thermal resistance metrics for LEDs based on the real dissipated heating power.
    • Simcenter DYNTIM extends T3Ster, providing a dynamic thermal test station for thermal conductivity measurements of thermal interface materials (TIMs), thermal greases and gap pads.
  • Simcenter Flomaster is a 1D or system-level CFD solution for analyzing fluid mechanics in complex pipe flow systems (from the acquisition of Flowmaster Ltd in 2012).
  • CADRA Design Drafting is a 2-1/2D mechanical drafting and documentation package specifically designed for drafting professionals. It provides the tools needed to develop complex drawings quickly and easily (from the acquisition of the CADRA product in 2013).

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Mentor Graphics

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
Mentor Graphics Corporation was an American multinational technology company founded in 1981 and headquartered in , specializing in electronic design automation (EDA) software, hardware, and services for the design, verification, and manufacturing of integrated circuits (ICs), printed circuit boards (PCBs), and electronic systems. Established by former engineers Tom Bruggere, Gerry Langeler, and Dave Moffenbeier, the company pioneered EDA tools to automate complex electronics design processes, emerging as one of the "Big Three" EDA vendors alongside and . By its fiscal year ending January 31, 2016, Mentor Graphics employed over 5,700 people worldwide and generated approximately $1.2 billion in revenue, focusing on solutions for semiconductors, automotive, , and industries. In November 2016, German industrial conglomerate announced its acquisition of Mentor Graphics for $4.5 billion at $37.25 per share, a deal that closed in March 2017 and integrated the company into division to advance and Industry 4.0 initiatives. In January 2021, the Mentor Graphics name was retired and the division rebranded as Siemens EDA, positioning its technologies as the foundational core of Siemens EDA and enhancing portfolio in simulation, AI-driven design, and end-to-end electronics innovation within the platform. Under Siemens, key legacy products from Mentor Graphics include Calibre for IC physical verification and design-for-manufacturing optimization, Questa for functional verification of system-on-chips (SoCs) and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), Xpedition for advanced PCB design flows, and PADS Professional for comprehensive PCB development, all supporting digital, analog, mixed-signal, and technologies across cloud-based and on-premises environments. These tools have been pivotal in enabling faster time-to-market, higher defect coverage (e.g., >90% in analog testing via Tessent solutions), and integration with broader systems like software-defined vehicles and 3D IC packaging.

Company Overview

Founding and Early Mission

Mentor Graphics was founded on April 2, 1981, and incorporated in , by Tom Bruggere, Gerry Langeler, and Dave Moffenbeier, all of whom were former executives at , a leading electronics firm in the region. The company emerged during a pivotal era in the , as the rise of integrated circuits and complex designs demanded more efficient workflows. Bruggere, a manager, Langeler, head of for a business unit, and Moffenbeier, an operations analysis manager, left along with six other engineers—totaling nine initial team members—to establish one of the pioneering firms in (CAE) for electronics design. This move was driven by their vision to shift design processes from manual methods to automated, software-driven tools, addressing the limitations of existing mainframe-based systems that were slow and non-interactive. The initial mission of Mentor Graphics centered on developing software solutions to automate key aspects of electronic design, including , logic simulation, and (PCB) layout. These tools were intended to empower engineers in the burgeoning and sectors by enabling faster iteration and reducing errors in the design of increasingly intricate circuits. At a time when most design work relied on paper drafts and physical prototypes, Mentor's approach emphasized workstation-based computing to integrate multiple design tasks into a cohesive system, fostering greater productivity and innovation in hardware development. Early funding played a crucial role in realizing this mission, with the company securing $1 million in its first round from investors including Sutter Hill Ventures, Greylock, and Associates. A subsequent $2 million round followed from five additional investors, providing the resources needed for and hiring. The founding team, supplemented by the initial engineers from , cultivated a culture of innovation characterized by collaborative problem-solving and a focus on engineer-centric tools; early meetings often took place in Bruggere's living room, underscoring the entrepreneurial spirit that prioritized bold software advancements over established norms. In 1982, Mentor Graphics launched its flagship product, the IDEA 1000, a CAE workstation system introduced at the Design Automation Conference. Built on hardware with proprietary software, it featured an interactive that allowed engineers to visualize and manipulate designs in real time—a significant departure from batch-processing alternatives. This debut marked the company's entry into the (EDA) market and laid the groundwork for its emphasis on user-friendly, integrated environments.

Headquarters and Global Presence

Mentor Graphics maintained its primary headquarters in , at 8005 SW Boeckman Road, where the company was founded in 1981. This location served as the core operational base, housing key teams, administrative functions, and major product development initiatives for (EDA) and embedded systems. By 2016, prior to its acquisition, Mentor Graphics had expanded significantly, operating approximately 85 offices across 32 countries worldwide to support its global customer base in the . Notable facilities included a major site in , focused on verification technologies; the , , office, which emphasized automotive and industrial solutions; and the Bangalore, India, center, dedicated to and support services. These locations enabled localized R&D and customer engagement in key markets. Following Siemens' acquisition of Mentor Graphics in 2017 for $4.5 billion, the company was integrated into and rebranded as Siemens EDA, with shared facilities across ' global network, including expanded operations in , , for EDA activities. The Wilsonville site remained a key hub for ongoing development and leadership. Pre-acquisition, Mentor Graphics employed around 5,700 people globally.

Historical Development

Establishment and Initial Growth (1981-1990)

Mentor Graphics was incorporated in October 1981 in by a group of engineers and managers from , including Tom Bruggere, Gerry Langeler, and Dave Moffenbeier, with initial seed funding of approximately $3 million raised from firms such as Sutter Hill Ventures, , and Associates. The company quickly generated its first revenues by selling integrated (CAE) workstations and software to early adopters, including , which adopted Mentor's tools for electronic design tasks. This early focus on software running on Apollo Domain workstations allowed Mentor to establish a foothold in the emerging (EDA) market, emphasizing integrated design and simulation capabilities. In 1985, Mentor Graphics launched Board Station, a pioneering system for printed circuit board (PCB) design that integrated , layout, and tools, quickly becoming an industry standard for complex PCB development. The product's success contributed to the company's overall revenue reaching $198 million that year, reflecting strong adoption among electronics manufacturers seeking efficient design automation. Board Station's emphasis on user-friendly interfaces and with other EDA tools helped Mentor differentiate itself in a rapidly evolving sector. The mid-1980s brought significant challenges for Mentor Graphics, including software bugs that affected reliability and intense competition from rivals like Valid Logic Systems, which offered similar CAE workstations. Industry-wide issues highlighted the era's struggles. In response, Mentor addressed product reliability amid a market downturn. Mentor Graphics achieved substantial growth during the decade, going public on in January 1984 and raising $55 million through its , which funded further product development and market expansion. By 1990, the company had expanded to approximately 2,000 employees, supported by revenues exceeding $300 million and a growing international presence in EDA solutions. This period solidified Mentor's position as a leader in automating electronic design processes.

Expansion and Industry Leadership (1990-2016)

During the 1990s, Mentor Graphics expanded its portfolio beyond (PCB) design tools by entering the (IC) design market with the introduction of QuickHDL, a (HDL) entry tool that facilitated and for complex digital designs. This move aligned with the growing adoption of HDLs like , in which Mentor demonstrated early leadership; by 1999, its ModelSim simulator held 59% of the market share, enabling more efficient verification of IC architectures. By the mid-1990s, Mentor had established itself as one of the "Big Three" EDA vendors alongside and , collectively commanding approximately 75% of the global EDA market, reflecting Mentor's significant position in a rapidly consolidating industry. Financially, Mentor Graphics achieved key milestones amid economic volatility, reaching annual revenues of around $500 million by 2000 despite the dot-com bust's impact on technology spending. The company recovered from the early 2000s downturn by shifting focus to resilient sectors such as automotive and electronics, where demand for embedded systems and verification tools remained strong; this strategic pivot helped stabilize growth as revenues climbed to $803 million by 2009. Key partnerships bolstered this expansion, including collaborations with on process technology integration to optimize EDA tools for advanced nodes, ensuring compatibility with evolving manufacturing requirements. In 2002, Mentor advanced system-on-chip (SoC) design capabilities through developments like the Olympus architecture, which introduced innovative place-and-route methodologies to handle the increasing complexity of multi-million-gate SoCs. Mentor Graphics maintained leadership in industry standards, particularly through robust support dating back to the language's early adoption in the 1980s and 1990s, with tools like QuickHDL and becoming staples for DoD-compliant designs and high-reliability applications. During the , the company responded with targeted cost-cutting measures, including facility consolidations and operational efficiencies, which preserved profitability amid a broader EDA market slowdown. This resilience enabled sustained growth, culminating in annual revenues of approximately $1.2 billion by fiscal year 2016, while focusing on high-margin areas like verification and for automotive and sectors.

Acquisition by Siemens and Rebranding (2017-Present)

In November 2016, Siemens announced its acquisition of Mentor Graphics for $4.5 billion in an all-cash deal valued at $37.25 per share, representing a 21% premium over Mentor's closing price on November 11, 2016. The transaction, aimed at strengthening Siemens' position in the electronic design automation (EDA) market—valued at approximately $6 billion at the time—positioned the German engineering conglomerate as a major player in industrial software and semiconductor design tools. The deal was completed on March 30, 2017, following regulatory approvals, with Mentor Graphics integrating into Siemens' product lifecycle management (PLM) software business under the Digital Industries Software division. Initially, Mentor retained its branding, business model, leadership, and operational independence to ensure continuity for customers and employees. Following the acquisition, Mentor Graphics operated as "Mentor, a Business," contributing to ' broader software portfolio while maintaining its core EDA expertise. This integration facilitated synergies in areas such as simulation and verification tools, aligning with ' Vision 2020 strategy for . In January 2021, the Mentor name was officially retired, and the division rebranded to EDA, fully embedding it within the ecosystem to streamline global operations and branding. The rebranding marked a pivotal shift, emphasizing unified offerings in electronic while honoring the acquired entity's technological heritage. Post-acquisition, EDA shifted strategically toward technology and Industry 4.0 initiatives, leveraging Mentor's EDA capabilities to enhance virtual modeling of complex systems across the . This focus enabled seamless integration of , , and processes, supporting ' goal of creating end-to-end digital enterprises. By 2024, EDA generated approximately $2.5 billion in annual revenue, contributing significantly to the Digital Industries Software division's growth amid rising demand for advanced and PCB design solutions. As of 2025, Siemens EDA continues to innovate under the umbrella, with notable advancements in AI-driven EDA tools unveiled at the Design Automation Conference, including generative AI for optimization and custom to accelerate chip and PCB design. These developments build on Mentor's legacy of production-proven technologies, preserving elements of its influence in employee culture—through retained expertise and collaborative practices—and subtle product naming conventions that nod to historical tools. This ongoing evolution ensures Siemens EDA remains a leader in addressing Industry 4.0 challenges while sustaining the innovative spirit of its predecessor.

Acquisitions and Strategic Growth

Key Acquisitions Timeline

Mentor Graphics engaged in a series of strategic acquisitions to bolster its (EDA) tools, embedded systems, and related technologies, with a total of 19 documented deals across its independent history. The company's early acquisition activity focused on enhancing (CAE) capabilities. In 1984, Mentor Graphics acquired Synergy Dataworks, Inc., a young Oregon-based firm, to expand its product offerings in CAE software during its first profitable year. During the , Mentor Graphics completed five acquisitions amid peak growth in the EDA sector, targeting advancements in and emulation technologies. Notable examples include the attempted but ultimately unsuccessful bid for Quickturn Design Systems in 1998, which aimed to integrate expertise (though Quickturn was acquired by instead). In the 2000s, Mentor Graphics executed seven acquisitions to strengthen embedded systems and tools. Key deals included the 2008 acquisition of Flomerics Group PLC for and simulation , enhancing PCB design capabilities. The marked the most active period for Mentor Graphics, peaking at three deals each in 2014 and 2015 to accelerate innovation in safety-critical and system-level design. Examples include three deals in 2015 targeting verification and tools. The final major pre-Siemens acquisition was Galaxy Semiconductor in October 2016, focused on memory IP and technologies.

Impacts on Business and Technology

Mentor Graphics' acquisitions significantly expanded its business strategy beyond core (EDA) tools into adjacent domains such as embedded systems, verification, and industry-specific applications in automotive and sectors. For instance, the 2015 acquisition of Tanner EDA enhanced Mentor's analog and mixed-signal capabilities, enabling better support for automotive sensor and RF applications, thereby diversifying its market from traditional to . Similarly, the acquisition of Calypto Design Systems in the same year introduced advanced low-power verification and optimization tools, which were critical for energy-efficient designs in mobile and automotive embedded systems, increasing the number of served market segments from primarily three (IC , PCB, and systems) to over ten by 2016, including and defense. The integration of acquired intellectual property created key technology synergies, resulting in unified platforms that streamlined workflows. The 2014 acquisition of Berkeley Design Automation incorporated the Analog FastSPICE simulator into Mentor's HyperLynx and Xpedition product lines, improving accuracy and speed for nanometer-scale analog/mixed-signal verification and reducing overall design iteration times through faster circuit simulations. This synergy extended to verification tools like Calibre, which evolved through internal development and complementary acquisitions such as Ponte Solutions in , leading to model-based -for-manufacturing (DFM) capabilities that minimized manufacturing defects and shortened time-to-market for complex chips. Financially, these acquisitions drove revenue growth while incurring integration expenses that were eventually offset by efficiencies. Between and 2010, Mentor's annual revenues grew from approximately $600 million in fiscal 2002 to around $800 million by 2009, with acquisitions contributing substantially—such as a 15% year-over-year increase in fiscal 2002, half of which stemmed from newly integrated product lines. Notable costs included the $64 million acquisition of LogicVision in 2009 for embedded IP, which involved efforts but yielded long-term savings through expanded solutions and opportunities. These moves bolstered Mentor's competitive position against rivals and by filling portfolio gaps in , emulation, and system-level design. By 2016, this acquisition-driven diversification provided a robust foundation that leveraged after acquiring Mentor, enabling cross-industry applications like digital twins in automotive and through integrated EDA and tools.

Products and Solutions

Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Tools

Mentor Graphics, now operating as EDA following its 2017 acquisition by , has long been a leader in (EDA) software tailored for (IC) design, layout, and optimization. The company's EDA portfolio addresses the complexities of modern manufacturing, enabling designers to automate processes from (RTL) synthesis to while managing challenges like power, performance, and area (PPA) trade-offs in advanced nodes. These tools integrate and AI to accelerate workflows, ensuring compatibility with industry-standard formats and processes. The Aprisa platform serves as a comprehensive RTL-to-GDSII solution for digital IC implementation, providing synthesis, place-and-route, and optimization capabilities optimized for top-level hierarchical and block-level designs in complex system-on-chips (SoCs). It employs a detail-route-centric approach to handle the intricacies of advanced process nodes, such as managing non-uniform metal tracks, triple patterning, and color-aware routing to improve routability and reduce congestion. Aprisa has been certified for leading-edge technologies, including Samsung Foundry's 3nm and 4nm FinFET processes, enabling fabless and IDM designers to achieve superior PPA metrics while shortening design cycles. The Calibre suite offers industry-standard tools for physical verification, design rule checking (DRC), layout-versus-schematic (LVS) analysis, and lithography simulation, ensuring designs meet manufacturing requirements across all process nodes. It supports GDSII and OASIS formats for seamless data handling in the IC tape-out flow, with features like parasitic extraction via Calibre xACT and yield enhancement through design-for-manufacturing (DFM) optimizations. Calibre's computational lithography capabilities simulate optical proximity effects and mask data preparation, including support for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography models to predict printability and minimize defects in sub-7nm nodes. Solido provides AI-powered solutions for analog and mixed-signal IC characterization, variation analysis, and , focusing on IP validation and high-sigma verification to account for process variability in FinFET and beyond devices. Leveraging algorithms, it accelerates SPICE-level simulations and characterization tasks, achieving up to 10x reductions in runtime compared to traditional methods while maintaining accuracy for PVT corners and analyses. This enables faster design closure for custom circuits, with integrated tools for nominal and statistical modeling in advanced nodes. Mentor's EDA tools trace their historical roots to foundational frameworks like the Falcon Framework introduced in the early 2000s, which emphasized for IC design flows, evolving through the to support FinFET architectures and preparatory work for EUV technologies by 2016 via certifications for TSMC's 16nm and 7nm processes.

Embedded Systems and Software

Mentor Graphics, now part of EDA, provides a suite of tools and for developing , emphasizing real-time performance, safety, and integration in safety-critical applications such as automotive and industrial systems. A cornerstone of this portfolio is the Nucleus RTOS, a designed for deterministic performance in resource-constrained environments. It features a scalable footprint, robust connectivity options, and capabilities, making it suitable for advanced embedded applications. The Nucleus RTOS includes a certified SafetyCert variant compliant with ASIL-D standards, enabling its use in safety-critical automotive electronic control units (ECUs) where low latency and fast boot times are essential for functions like instrument clusters and control systems. Complementing the RTOS, Sourcery CodeBench serves as an Eclipse-based (IDE) for cross-compiling and embedded C/C++ code. It supports heterogeneous architectures including and PowerPC, optimizing software for multicore processors in domains like automotive and industrial automation. This tool facilitates efficient code analysis and deployment, reducing development time through advanced optimization and features. The evolution of Mentor's embedded software capabilities traces back to key acquisitions, such as Accelerated Technology in 2002, which integrated the into its offerings and expanded support for model-based development workflows. Subsequent acquisitions like XS Embedded in 2010 further strengthened automotive-focused model-based system architectures, allowing developers to abstract complex behaviors and accelerate software integration for embedded targets. Post-acquisition by in 2017, Mentor's embedded tools have integrated with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing frameworks, such as Simcenter Testlab RT, to validate software on IoT and edge devices under simulated real-world conditions. These enhancements include improved cloud connectivity protocols, enabling seamless exchange from gateways to platforms like AWS and Azure for remote monitoring and over-the-air updates in connected systems.

Verification, Simulation, and Emulation

Mentor Graphics, now operating as EDA following its 2017 acquisition by , provides a suite of tools for functional verification of integrated circuits, encompassing software-based , hardware-assisted emulation, and design-for-test (DFT) solutions. These tools address the growing complexity of system-on-chip (SoC) designs by enabling early detection of functional bugs, performance validation, and manufacturability testing. The verification portfolio integrates with broader (EDA) flows to support standards like and (UVM), facilitating reusable testbenches and assertion-based verification. The Questa Advanced Simulator serves as a core component for simulation-based verification, offering high-performance functional simulation for and mixed-signal designs. It supports UVM-based environments, enabling engineers to develop and reuse constrained-random testbenches while incorporating assertion-driven methodologies to verify design intent at the protocol and architectural levels. Questa's capabilities include built-in property (PSL) and Assertions (SVA) support, which streamline integration and coverage-driven closure for complex SoCs. Additionally, its analog and mixed-signal () extensions allow co-simulation of digital and analog blocks, reducing verification overhead in heterogeneous designs. For pre-silicon validation where speed becomes a bottleneck, the Veloce hardware emulation platform accelerates verification by mapping RTL designs onto reconfigurable hardware. Veloce systems enable cycle-accurate emulation of multi-billion-gate SoCs, providing up to 100x faster debug compared to traditional software through high-speed execution and full visibility into design states. The platform's blade-based architecture scales from 40 million gates to over 40 billion gates, supporting workloads like software bring-up, validation, and system-level for AI, HPC, and networking applications. Recent enhancements, such as Veloce Strato CS and Primo CS, incorporate modular interconnects for distributed emulation, ensuring low-latency debug even in massive designs exceeding 25 billion gates by 2025. Tessent solutions focus on DFT to embed testability into designs, minimizing production test costs and improving yield. Tessent ScanPro automates scan chain insertion and automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) using technologies like VersaPoint for test point optimization and embedded deterministic test (EDT) compression, which can reduce test pattern volume by factors of 100x or more, leading to substantial decreases in manufacturing test time and costs. The Tessent Streaming Scan Network (SSN) further decouples core and chip-level DFT, packetizing test data to simplify integration in large SoCs and cut ATPG runtime by up to 10x while maintaining high fault coverage. These features ensure efficient defect detection in production silicon, supporting advanced nodes and chiplet-based architectures. Additionally, as of September 2025, Tessent AnalogTest enables automated analog and mixed-signal testing, achieving >90% IEEE P2427-based defect coverage with 10x-100x reductions in test time compared to traditional methods. Siemens EDA's emulation heritage traces back to Mentor Graphics' acquisitions, including Meta Systems in 1996 for custom emulation ICs and IKOS Systems in 2002, which bolstered mid-range offerings. These integrations laid the foundation for Veloce's evolution, transitioning from early logic emulation for million-gate designs to handling multi-billion-gate complexities by 2025 through advancements in FPGA-based prototyping and interconnects. Under , the platform has expanded to address hyperscale AI and demands, maintaining leadership in hardware-assisted verification.

System-Level Design and Analysis Tools

Mentor Graphics, now part of EDA, offers a suite of tools for system-level and that address the integration of printed circuit boards (PCBs), harnesses, and thermal management in complex electronic systems, particularly for industries like automotive, , and . These tools enable engineers to perform multi-physics simulations, ensuring compliance with high-speed performance, (), and thermal requirements early in the cycle. By combining electrical, mechanical, and environmental analyses, the offerings support holistic system validation, reducing development time and costs through automated workflows and seamless data integration. Xpedition serves as a scalable PCB layout platform, supporting high-speed design from to , with features like hierarchical design, automated , and 3D visualization for complex boards. It incorporates AI-infused automation for repetitive tasks, such as intelligent suggestions for component placement, allowing it to scale from small teams to enterprise-level operations handling multi-board systems. Integrated with HyperLynx, Xpedition facilitates analysis, enabling early detection of issues like and impedance mismatches in high-speed interfaces such as DDR and . This integration extends to /EMC compliance, where HyperLynx performs automated 2D/2.5D/3D electromagnetic simulations and standards-based checks to verify board-level electromagnetic behavior without disrupting the design flow. PADS Professional provides a comprehensive, integrated solution for PCB design targeted at hardware engineers and small to medium workgroups. It supports entry, layout, , and basic in a user-friendly environment, with cloud connectivity for collaboration and , enabling and production-ready outputs. As of May 2025, enhancements like PADS Pro Essentials democratize AI-driven features from Xpedition for entry-level users. Capital Harness, part of the Capital suite, specializes in electrical wiring and cabling design for automotive and applications, automating the creation of detailed 3D harness models from logical schematics. It supports automated that ensures compliance with geometric constraints, standards, and regulatory requirements, such as bend radii and bundle diameters, while integrating with MCAD tools like and NX for seamless mechanical co-design. By generating validated, manufacturing-ready outputs including bills of materials and reports, Capital Harness reduces engineering errors and shortens new product introduction timelines by up to 30% through digital continuity and IP reuse. For thermal management, FloEFD provides CAD-embedded (CFD) simulation, allowing direct analysis of and dissipation within enclosures using native from tools like or Creo, which cuts setup time by 65-75% via automatic meshing and intelligent automation. Complementing this, FloTHERM focuses on cooling with fast, accurate CFD for system-level , supporting scales from IC packages to full enclosures and incorporating extensive libraries for components like heatsinks and fans to model transient and steady-state behaviors. These tools enable parametric studies for optimizing in dense electronic assemblies, ensuring reliability under operational conditions. Following ' 2017 acquisition of Mentor Graphics, the portfolio has expanded to support digital twins for full-system validation, combining electrical design from Xpedition, mechanical integration via Capital, and FPGA prototyping for hardware-software co-verification in a unified environment. This enables simulation of the entire electronic system interacting with physical models, accelerating validation and reducing risks in multi-domain applications like autonomous vehicles.

References

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  6. https://www.oregonlive.com/silicon-forest/2017/03/siemens_completes_45_billion_p.html
  7. https://www.eetimes.com/mentor-finally-becomes-siemens-eda-from-january-2021/
  8. https://eda.sw.siemens.com/en-US/
  9. https://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102746681
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