Rumor

Cadence AI accelerator IP revenue growth outpaces Synopsys amid foundry expansion

Saturday, December 6, 2025 at 03:56 PM

Cadence is seeing significant IP revenue growth driven by AI accelerators, outperforming Synopsys in growth rate despite the latter's larger market share. Cadence expects its IP segment to outgrow company averages, supported by strong positions at TSMC and potential expansion with Intel and Samsung foundries.

Context

Cadence has experienced a significant inflection in semiconductor IP revenue since FY21, primarily fueled by the rapid adoption of AI accelerators. The company is currently outgrowing its larger rival, Synopsys, which recently issued muted IP guidance for 2026 following a strategic setback with a major foundry customer. While Synopsys still maintains a dominant IP revenue base more than 2x the size of its competitor, Cadence expects its IP segment to continue outperforming its own corporate growth average as it captures high-growth silicon design projects. Strategic foundry expansions serve as the primary catalyst for this sustained momentum. While Cadence remains deeply integrated with TSMC’s advanced nodes, new multi-year agreements and design-flow certifications with Samsung and Intel are poised to drive further IP adoption. Although IP currently represents approximately 14% of total revenue and operates at margins below the corporate average, it is a critical strategic lever for Cadence to lock in long-term market share within the evolving AI and high-performance computing supply chains.

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Synopsys

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