VLSI design trend 2014: Silicon hungry software to silicon for app

Customizing is becoming important differentiator in SoC design. When OEM manufacturer buys application specific SoCs from merchant semiconductor companies, it has limited scope in adding unique performance strengths to a product. Starting with Apple many product OEMs are going for own internal VLSI design teams to add unique performance capabilities at chip level. This trend is very good news for EDA software companies where they get more number of customers. This writer recently met Lip Bu Tan, CEO, Cadence, Nimish Modi, SVP Marketing and Business development, Cadence and Anirudh Devgan, SVP Digital and Signoff group, Cadence at company's annual event CDN Live held in Bangalore recently to learn about latest in chip design. Below are the some of the VLSI design trend this writer understood after spending some time discussing with them at the event: Moving from silicon hungry software to Silicon for app trend: During the PC desktop period, software application developers were designing the software depending on the processor's performance which directly proportional to number of logic gates chip has. Though that trend still relevant, that is not a key driver now. Now the market requirement is directly impacting chip design. The apps what people prefer on their mobile phones or any electronic device are driving the SOC design. Nimish said "I think wh...