Cadence and National Instruments Enter into Strategic Alliance Agreement to Enhance Electronic System Innovation

AUSTIN, Texas, 02 Dec 2019 -- National Instruments Corporation (Nasdaq: NATI) and Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDNS) today announced a system innovation strategic alliance to create an integrated design to test flow, leveraging reusable data and test IP from electronics design and verification to validation and production test for electronic system and semiconductor companies. This strategic alliance builds upon the broad-ranging collaboration that National Instruments (NI) and Cadence initiated in 2018 to improve the overall semiconductor development and testing of next-generation wireless, automotive and mobile integrated circuits (ICs) and modules. Through the strategic alliance agreement, NI and Cadence expect the joint development of technology, methodology and intellectual property to streamline electronics development.

The objective is to provide customers with a seamless flow from pre-silicon development to post-silicon test, leveraging design, verification and analysis data between Cadence and NI technologies. The collaboration is anchored in analog, mixed-signal and RF integrations around the Cadence^® Virtuoso^® and Spectre^® platforms, and physical data from the NI LabVIEW and PXI modular instrumentation systems, which customers can use to enhance system design via a comprehensive flow from concept to volume production to help them achieve faster time to market and lower overall costs.

“The rapid product expansion in the wireless, consumer, automotive, and aerospace and defense market segments calls for an accelerated pace of system innovation and collaboration,” said Lip Bu Tan, chief executive officer at Cadence. “By working even more closely with NI on this strategic alliance, we aim to deliver an integrated flow from pre-silicon mixed-signal design and verification to post-silicon validation and test, shortening the overall time to electronic product creation.”

Cadence and NI also plan to collaborate to define and build a common, connected flow enabling re-use of mixed-signal testbenches and stimulus from pre-silicon design verification to post-silicon validation and production test. Reusable test IP helps customers accelerate their time to market and reduce errors. A goal of the collaboration is to better integrate flows for analog/mixed-signal and RF ICs and modules from design to test.

“Cadence is the ideal partner for National Instruments as we work together to define the next generation of design to test methodology,” said Alex Davern, chief executive officer at National Instruments. “By combining NI’s advanced semiconductor validation and test systems with Cadence’s industry-leading technology in analog mixed-signal and RF design and verification, we can help our customers accelerate time to market, reduce costs and improve product quality. We look forward to working with Cadence to make this vision a reality in a fast-paced environment.”

In addition to the strategic alliance agreement, Cadence and NI have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Cadence expects to acquire AWR Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of NI. For more information, please see www.cadence.com/go/awracquisition.

About National Instruments

NI (ni.com) develops high-performance automated test and automated measurement systems to help you solve your engineering challenges now and into the future. Our open, software-defined platform uses modular hardware and an expansive ecosystem to help you turn powerful possibilities into real solutions. Learn more at www.ni.com.

About Cadence

Cadence enables electronic systems and semiconductor companies to create the innovative end products that are transforming the way people live, work and play. Cadence^® software, hardware and semiconductor IP are used by customers to deliver products to market faster. The company’s System Design Enablement strategy helps customers develop differentiated products—from chips to boards to systems—in mobile, consumer, cloud datacenter, automotive, aerospace, IoT, industrial and other market segments. Cadence is listed as one of Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For. Learn more at www.cadence.com.