Cadence announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Arm to acquire Arm’s Artisan foundation IP business. This acquisition includes standard cell libraries, memory compilers, and general-purpose I/Os optimized for advanced process nodes at leading foundries. The transaction will significantly augment Cadence’s expanding design IP offerings, which already include a leading portfolio of protocol and interface IP, memory interface IP, SerDes IP, and embedded security IP from the pending Secure-IC acquisition.
By increasing its footprint in SoC designs, Cadence is reinforcing its commitment to accelerating customers’ time to market and optimizing cost, power, and performance on the world’s leading foundry processes. The acquisition will be executed through an asset purchase agreement with a concurrent technology license agreement, subject to existing rights. As part of the transaction, Cadence will also acquire a highly talented and experienced engineering team from Arm.
“During its 25-year history, Arm’s Artisan IP has established a strong presence and reputation in the global ecosystem of foundries and SoC partners. With the expected addition of the Artisan IP business and team, Cadence will enter the foundation IP market, enabling us to capitalize on new growth opportunities,” said Boyd Phelps, senior vice president and general manager of the Silicon Solutions Group at Cadence. “We will gain key technology and expertise to augment our design services and chiplet offerings, enabling us to deliver on our comprehensive IP strategy and provide greater value to our customers.”
Kevork Kechichian, executive vice president of Solutions Engineering at Arm, added, “We are committed to ensuring that the foundational physical IP needed to deploy Arm technology across all markets continues to be available to the ecosystem. The Artisan brand is well established, and we believe this technology will continue to play a significant role in the semiconductor industry in the future. Cadence is an ideal partner to take it forward.”
The transaction is anticipated to close in the third quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The acquisition is expected to be immaterial to revenue and earnings this year.
For more information, visit https://www.cadence.com
