Chinese startup aims to topple Siemens EDA in tech race.

Siemens EDA is facing competition from a Chinese startup called SEIDA, which was formed by former employees of Siemens EDA. SEIDA is focusing on optical proximity correction (OPC), a key stage in the chip lithography process. The company’s CEO, Liguo ‘Recoo’ Zhang, and COO, Peilun ‘Allen’ Chang, both have previous experience working for Siemens EDA. Investors in SEIDA include an arm of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), China’s leading foundry. The first products from SEIDA are expected to come to market in early 2024, and the company’s presence aligns with China’s goal of reducing its dependence on US EDA tools.

Siemens EDA stated that they consider SEIDA a potential competitor. However, there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by SEIDA or its employees. It is noted that developing OPC from scratch would be challenging without access to existing intellectual property, raising questions about the development timeline of SEIDA’s products. SEIDA stands for Semiconductor Intelligent Design Automation.