Altair Buys Metrics Design Automation; Pursues Material Plan with HP

Altair has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Metrics Design Automation Inc. (Metrics), a Canadian company with a simulation as a service (SaaS) business model for semiconductor electronic functional simulation and design verification. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions.

The Metrics digital simulator, DSim, when combined with Altair’s Silicon Debug Tools, will deliver an advanced simulation environment with simulation and debug capabilities in the electronics design automation (EDA) and semiconductor space. The cloud-based business model has the potential to transform the semiconductor space by making high-caliber EDA design tools more affordable and accessible for companies looking to scale out simulations to accelerate design cycles.

The Altair and Metrics solution can run as a desktop app, on your own servers, or in the cloud and can run large regressions with the customer paying only for what they use. It supports System Verilog and VHDL RTL for digital circuits targeting application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Simulations can be run concurrently and at scale.

“By combining our best-in-class software with Metrics’ cloud-based simulation as a service, we are excited to bring this groundbreaking technology to our EDA and semiconductor customers,” says James R. Scapa, founder and chief executive officer, Altair. 

DSim will be available through Altair One, Altair’s cloud innovation gateway, where it will also be available for desktop download. Whether in the cloud, on your own servers, or on the desktop, DSim is fully featured and optimized for speed, capacity and accuracy, providing semiconductor, automotive, aerospace and defense customers with Altair’s digital simulation, visualization, and circuit debug technology, so they can quickly track down design problems and move complex devices into production earlier, the company says..

“We are proud to be first-to-market with our game-changing design verification product and business model for the semiconductor industry,” says Joe Costello, executive chairman, Metrics. “Joining Altair will allow us to grow and provide an alternative option—whether on desktop, on your own servers, or in the cloud—to engineers looking for a flexible, modern, accurate, and fast design verification solution that is truly scalable.”

Metrics is led by Joe Costello, who is considered one of the founders of the modern EDA industry when he became president of Cadence Design Systems and drove annual revenues to over $1B—reportedly the first EDA company to achieve that milestone. 

In other news, Altair has signed an agreement with HP in which HP will provide Altair with proprietary material information that will bolster the Altair Material Data Center, which enables designers and engineers to browse, search, and compare materials in a standalone application or through the interface of their simulation and optimization tools. The collaboration is designed to help customers better design parts for Multi Jet Fusion and Metal Jet printers, according to the companies.

“Collaborating with HP will empower our customers to overcome the common challenge of access to accurate material property data, that often hinders the design and production of 3D-printed parts,” says Yeshwant Mummaneni, chief engineer, data management and analytics, Altair. 

The collaboration between Altair and HP bridges the design and production of 3D printed parts, the companies note. As a result, engineers with access to the Altair Material Data Center will be able to use HP material data to design parts, conduct structural analysis using finite element analysis, and predict and fix manufacturing defects during design and simulation.

“3D printing is at the forefront of so many next-generation opportunities—we are delighted to reinforce Altair's robust databases and solutions with our library of material information,” says Arvind Rangarajan, global head, software and data, personalization, and 3D printing, HP. 

The collaboration will also benefit users of Altair Inspire Print3D, which accelerates the creation, optimization, and study of additively manufactured parts by providing a toolset for the design and process simulation of parts made by metal binder jetting.

To learn more, visit Altair in booth #800 at RAPID + TCT June 25-27 or visit https://materials.altairone.com/page/landing to register for free access to the Altair Material Data Center.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.

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