Nvidia puts $2 billion into Synopsys chip-design push

Synopsys has been an under-the-radar beneficiary of the AI build-out. Its electronic design automation (EDA) software is used by engineers to simulate and verify complex chips, a role that becomes more valuable as AI chips grow more complex. That has drawn closer ties with Nvidia, which invested $2 billion in Synopsys and expanded their partnership around AI-powered engineering. The collaboration is helping engineers automate complicated design and verification workflows.

At its September investor day, Synopsys said AI is creating multiple growth engines across its EDA, silicon intellectual property (IP), and engineering businesses, while its longer-term plan targets mid-teens revenue growth and higher margins. AI appears to be expanding rather than disrupting its core business, as more complex chips and custom silicon from hyperscalers drive demand for its design tools and IP.

Synopsys has been rolling out agentic workflows that automate portions of chip design and verification, with its latest Nvidia-powered workflows designed to handle complex engineering tasks with much less human intervention. It has extended that automation to partners including TSMC, OpenAI, and Amazon, shifting further toward a license-and-royalty model that benefits when customers scale production of their custom chips.