EDA value is shifting to systems
Synopsys and partners are being tapped for system-level simulation and digital-twin work—such as NASA projects—showing EDA is moving beyond transistor-level tools into systems validation. Reports describe Synopsys applying electromagnetic simulation and digital twin techniques to mission-critical applications, indicating rising demand for simulation-driven systems engineering. (simplywall.st) (futurumgroup.com/insights/synopsys-extends-simulation-reach-to-the-lunar-surface-via-artemis-program/)
Electronic design automation started as software for drawing and checking chips before they were manufactured. Synopsys is now using that stack to model spacesuits, antennas and lunar networks for NASA’s Artemis program. (news.synopsys.com) NASA’s Johnson Space Center selected Synopsys and Electro Magnetic Applications, or EMA, to study how Artemis spacesuits charge up in the lunar environment, including friction from moon dust and electrostatic discharge from space plasma. NASA’s Glenn Research Center is also working with Synopsys and Cesium, part of Bentley Systems, on a digital twin to validate cellular network performance on the Moon. (news.synopsys.com) A digital twin is a software copy of a real object or environment that engineers can test before hardware is built or deployed. Synopsys said March 10 that its new Electronics Digital Twin platform is meant to connect chip models, software behavior and full-system validation, with an initial focus on automotive programs. (news.synopsys.com) The NASA work uses simulation for problems that sit above the transistor level. Synopsys said engineers at NASA Glenn are using its electromagnetic simulation tools to analyze antennas on spacesuits and rovers during simulated lunar missions, while EMA and Synopsys are applying Ansys Charge Plus to model charging and discharging in multilayer suit materials. (news.synopsys.com) That is a wider brief than classic electronic design automation, which centered on chip layout, verification and manufacturing checks. In its fiscal 2025 annual report, Synopsys described its business as “silicon to systems” and said it delivers design solutions that include system verification and validation. (sec.gov) The shift accelerated after Synopsys closed its acquisition of Ansys on July 17, 2025. Ansys’ investor site says the combined company joins Synopsys’ silicon design business with Ansys’ multiphysics simulation tools for semiconductor, automotive, industrial and aerospace customers. (investors.ansys.com) Synopsys’ own numbers show how much bigger that combined market became. The company reported fiscal 2025 revenue of $7.054 billion, up about 15% from $6.127 billion in fiscal 2024, and said Ansys contributed $756.6 million of that 2025 total. (investor.synopsys.com) The pitch to customers is that more validation can happen before physical prototypes exist. Synopsys said its automotive-focused digital twin platform can let original equipment manufacturers complete up to 90% of software validation before hardware is available. (news.synopsys.com) NASA’s Artemis work puts that strategy in a mission-critical setting: use the same vendor base that once helped verify chips to now verify whole systems operating on the Moon. For Synopsys, the value is no longer only in designing electronics, but in proving how those electronics behave inside a larger machine before launch. (news.synopsys.com)
