Open-Silicon

Last updated
Open-Silicon
Industry Semiconductors
Founded2003 (2003)
FoundersDr. Naveed Sherwani, Dr. Satya Gupta, Scott Houghton
Headquarters
Milpitas, California
,
United States
Products ASICs, system-on-a-chip, integrated circuits
Number of employees
400 (2013)
Website www.open-silicon.com at the Wayback Machine (archived March 17, 2009)

Open-Silicon was an American semiconductor company based in California that was founded in 2003. The company was a fabless semiconductor company that focused on custom System on Chip (SoC) designs.

Contents

Open-Silicon was acquired by SiFive in September, 2021 and was renamed as OpenFive. The unit was subsequently sold by SiFive in March 2022 to Alphawave Semi. [1]

Corporate history

Open-Silicon was founded in 2003 by Naveed Sherwani, Satya Gupta and Scott Houghton. Initial funding was provided by Sequoia Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, and InterWest Partners. [2] In December 2007 Unicorn Investment Bank acquired 75% of Open-Silicon for $190M, with the rest of the company employee-owned. [3]

In May 2007, Open-Silicon acquired Zenasis Technologies, a maker of processor optimization EDA software. [4] This technology has also been expanded by Open-Silicon to focus on low power design and process variability management. [5]

In 2009 Open-Silicon acquired design services firm Silicon Logic Engineering (SLE). This acquisition has enhanced the company's derivative IC design capabilities. [6] In 2010 the company opened new facilities in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Pune, India, to provide additional support for derivative IC design.

Open-Silicon's business model for its ASIC development process was called the OpenMODEL. [7] [1] In 2012, Open-Silicon acquired and grew substantial design operations in Pakistan and Taiwan.

On August 17, 2020, SiFive acquired Open-Silicon and renamed it OpenFive, an independent business unit of SiFive. On Sept. 1, 2022, Canadian semiconductor licensing company Alphawave Semi acquired SiFive’s OpenFive business unit for $210 million.

References

  1. 1 2 "Alphawave acquires SiFive's OpenFive business for $210 million". Data Center Dynamics. March 14, 2022.
  2. ↑ "Open-Silicon Inc. Secures $19.5 Million in Funding". March 29, 2004. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Bahrain Bank Buys Stake in Open-Silicon". December 24, 2007.
  4. ↑ "Open-Silicon Acquires Zenasis Hybrid Optimization Technology". May 7, 2007. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012.
  5. ↑ "When an ASIC Vendor Partners with an EDA Vendor: A New Model". November 12, 2008. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Open-Silicon Acquires Design Services Firm". January 12, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Open Silicon thriving and hiring in downturn". January 12, 2009.
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