Chinese chip equipment supplier SiCarrier’s unit launches EDA software

The new products reflect the Chinese semiconductor industry’s efforts to become self-sufficient in chip design software

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Foreign suppliers continue to dominate China’s chip design software market. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:00pm, 15 Oct 2025Updated: 4:22pm, 15 Oct 2025

A subsidiary of SiCarrier – a semiconductor equipment maker backed by the Shenzhen municipal government and works with Huawei Technologies – has released proprietary electronic design automation (EDA) software, bolstering China’s broader push towards technology self-reliance.

Qiyunfang, the SiCarrier unit, on Wednesday launched two EDA products – one for schematic capture and another for printed circuit board (PCB) design – at the three-day WeSemiBay Semiconductor Ecosystem Expo 2025 in Shenzhen that concludes on Friday.

The development of new domestic EDA products reflected the Chinese semiconductor industry’s efforts to enhance self-sufficiency in chip design software, a market that is dominated by foreign suppliers Cadence Design Systems, Synopsys and Siemens EDA.

EDA software could become another hot button issue in US-China trade negotiations after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose an additional 100 per cent tariff on Chinese imports, as well as place export controls on critical software.

At present, China’s top semiconductor design software vendors include Empyrean Technology, Primarius Technologies and Semitronix. These firms were put under the spotlight in May, when Washington imposed restrictions on EDA sales to China, a measure that the US rescinded in July.

Qiyunfang’s EDA products are compatible with a wide range of domestic operating systems, databases and middleware platforms, according to the company. The new EDA products have already been adopted by more than 20,000 engineers, the company added.

It also claimed that the software’s performance exceeded industry benchmarks by 30 per cent, while also reducing hardware development cycles by up to 40 per cent.

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