Siemens Acquires Defacto Technologies for SoC Design Automation

Siemens has entered an agreement to acquire Defacto Technologies, a French electronic design automation software company that specializes in automating the creation and integration of system-on-chip designs. The transaction adds register-transfer level automation capabilities to Siemens' semiconductor design portfolio, according to details first reported by citybiz.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Automating complex chip assembly

Defacto Technologies develops software that automates SoC assembly, design restructuring, and power intent management through a unified design database. The technology addresses the growing complexity of integrating intellectual property blocks, defining connectivity, and managing power architectures as chip designs become more sophisticated.

The acquisition extends Siemens' end-to-end semiconductor design platform by connecting early-stage chip architecture and assembly with downstream implementation, verification, and signoff workflows. This continuity aims to reduce manual effort and errors in the SoC development process.

"With Defacto Technologies, we strengthen our ability to help customers automate SoC design creation and establish trusted design flows earlier in the development cycle," said Ankur Gupta, executive vice president of the IC Portfolio at Siemens EDA, Siemens Digital Industries Software.

Why it matters

The semiconductor industry is shifting from monolithic chip designs to modular architectures built around chiplets and reusable IP components. This transition requires engineers to integrate larger numbers of functional blocks while meeting strict performance, timing, and power requirements. Automation tools that reduce manual assembly work and accelerate design cycles are becoming essential as AI, automotive, and high-performance computing applications drive demand for increasingly complex chips. Siemens' move reflects the competitive pressure among EDA vendors to deliver integrated platforms that improve engineering productivity and shorten time to market.

Expanding the EDA footprint

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Grenoble, France, Defacto Technologies has focused on enabling engineering teams to automate early-stage SoC design and improve design reuse across multiple semiconductor projects.

"Joining Siemens represents an important next step for our organization and our customers," said Chouki Aktouf, chief executive officer of Defacto Technologies. "This next chapter opens significant opportunities by combining our expertise in SoC design automation with the breadth of Siemens' EDA portfolio."

The combined platform will support automated connectivity management, timing constraint generation, and power intent workflows across the semiconductor development process. By incorporating Defacto's RTL automation capabilities, Siemens aims to help customers accelerate design cycles while reducing errors associated with manual SoC assembly.

Siemens Digital Industries Software provides electronic design automation software as part of its Siemens Xcelerator platform, offering technologies that span integrated circuit design, electronic systems development, digital twins, and manufacturing automation.

The transaction continues Siemens' strategy of expanding its semiconductor software capabilities through targeted acquisitions. Once completed, the acquisition is expected to enhance Siemens' competitive position in the global EDA market by providing customers with more comprehensive automation tools for developing sophisticated semiconductor devices.

Details of the acquisition were first reported by citybiz.