EDA vendors Cadence Design Systems and Mentor Graphics are going head-to-head in their efforts to help new start-ups across Europe.
Cadence has set up a start-up programme to work with small companies and management buyouts, echoing the Cre8Ventures move last year by Mentor Graphics. However, it differs from Cre8Ventures by being led by venture capital funds.
“There are a lot of start-ups across Europe and the numbers are increasing,” said Sean Redmond, v-p of Europe for Cadence.
“This really came from discussion with the VCs [venture capitalists]. When they got through their due diligence and released the funds, then the design team started the process of deciding what design tools and design flow to use and that was taking the investment away from the real focus of getting the real products as quickly as possible and getting some real return.”
Through its Virtual CAD team, Cadence is working with Pond Ventures and Atlas Ventures to supply start-ups with its tools at commercial rates and is looking at other VC funds in France and Germany. It is already working with Air Semiconductor in Swindon and Altair Semiconductor in Israel, as well as eight other start-ups in the last quarter.
The Mentor approach includes tools but also looks at finding management and customers through a network of executives.
“The [Cre8Ventures] programme takes a hands-on approach to the route-to-funding and all important route-to-market challenges for the start-up,” said Carson Bardbury, director of Mentor’s Cre8Ventures. “It strongly supports the incubator idea and is currently active in six incubators across Europe; three within the UK.”
Bradbury said 50 start-ups in 21 different markets were being helped, with four taking on design challenges at 90nm or below.
“Because we can surround them with serial entrepreneurs, who have achieved multiple exits with their own fabless stocks, I am certain these great new entrepreneurs will have an awesome opportunity to succeed,” said Bradbury.