Today we’re looking at the Trump administration’s latest move to curb China’s chip ambitions. The US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security has told leading electronic design automation firms—including Cadence, Synopsys and Siemens EDA—to halt sales of their semiconductor design software to Chinese groups. The goal is to slow China’s progress on advanced AI chips. On its earnings call, Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi said, “We are aware of the reporting and speculation, but Synopsys has not received a notice from BIS.” Former CIA China analyst Christopher Johnson warns this underscores the “innate fragility of the tariff truce reached in Geneva.” EDA tools power roughly 80 percent of China’s design market. In fiscal 2024, Synopsys logged nearly $1 billion in China sales, about 16 percent of its revenue, while Cadence saw $550 million or 12 percent. Their shares fell nearly 10 percent on the news. Meanwhile, Chinese rivals like Empyrean, Primarius and Semitronix surged over 10 percent as they fill the gap. Stay tuned as we track how these controls reshape the global semiconductor race.
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