Innovation in 2024: Designed with Cadence

2024 has been a pivotal year for the semiconductor industry. It goes without saying that chips are all around us, from our phones to our fridges. Of course, all chips aren’t made equal; they are designed differently based on what’s required of them. What’s true for a large portion of them, though, is that they’re designed with Cadence software. In fact, Cadence’s CEO, Anirudh Devgan, said it best himself: “Almost any chip designed in the world is done so with Cadence software.”

Initiatives like the CHIPS and Science Act have bolstered the industry. The global semiconductor market is estimated to grow by 15% in 2025, thanks to the rising demand for chips in artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC). From data centers to autonomous vehicles, semiconductors have become the backbone of modern technology.

This year, the Designed with Cadence video series has covered a number of innovative companies and their success stories with Cadence tools. Let’s take a look back at some of the series’ highlights from 2024.

Thanks to the AI boom, the industry has entered a new era of semiconductor design. Sustainability has become a huge focus for many companies, such as Imagination, which makes energy-efficient GPUs from scratch, and Lightmatter, which is leveraging photonic technologies to make photonic chips. For others, it’s about optimizing chips for the next generation of AI, namely InspireSemi’s Thunderbird System-on-Chip.

AI and data centers go hand in hand, as AI algorithms require massive amounts of data to learn and make predictions, and 2024 has seen a rapid rise in data center buildouts specifically made for AI workloads. Companies like Switch are now focusing on taking their data center cooling capabilities even further with the help of Cadence’s Reality Digital Twin Platform. N5, NVIDIA, and Cadence have also collaborated to deploy future-proof data centers for AI high-density workloads.

The automotive sector, fueled by the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and driver-assist systems, has seen substantial growth in semiconductor demand. These two key drivers have increased the amount of semiconductor content per vehicle despite the slowdown in vehicle production. Whether it be for EVs, high-power rockets, or racing, Cadence CFD is a part of the design process. Honda is on track to make its first electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle or flying car. McLaren and Cadence’s winning partnership has helped them achieve new aerodynamic advancements.

2024 has been an exciting year for the semiconductor industry, especially so for Cadence. Keep an eye out for more from the Designed with Cadence series in 2025! For more Designed with Cadence videos, check out the Cadence website and YouTube channel.