It's an Analog World, After All

Until new markets like DFM and ESL take off, the big EDA vendors are going after Cadence's Virtuoso franchise for Analog/Mixed Signal design. This has been a safe haven and cash cow for Cadence.

While I've caught mentions of Synopsys working on an analog design product, Magma has been the most forthcoming so far. Last week at MUSIC (Magma Users' Group meeting in San Jose), they announced

• Titan, an Analog design entry system. See Magma Introduces Titan -- First Platform to Combine Full-Chip, Mixed-Signal, Analysis and Verification for IC Design and a video interview Cooley does Rajeev on his new Titan.
• Acquisition of Sabio, an Analog "process migration" tool. See the press release Magma Acquires Sabio Labs, Enhances Titan Mixed-Signal Design Platform.

Titan  is at first glance a "me too" product, though attractive if it offers better integration, performance, and pricing. Sabio has a lot of grand claims from Magma -- if they deliver, this technology could be very valuable to customers.