Abstract Inc, the Fremont, California-based formal verification software house, has confirmed reports that its founder and chairman, Gerry Musgrave, is to leave the company. According to Abstract’s chief executive officer, Mek Rahmani, Musgrave is leaving over differences in opinion over the future direction of the company. We had a divergence of views over my plans to take the benefits of formal verification to the mainstream market rather than continuing a niche strategy in a corner of the high-end market, Rahmani told Computergram. He said the company would be shifting focus away from its European operations in the UK over to the US, and said 90% of its 28 staff would be working out of the California office. Abstract faces increased competition in the verification market from large companies such as Synopsys Inc, Cadence Design Systems Inc and Mentor Graphics Corp, who are bundling verification into their wider electronic design automation tools. Synopsys launched its Formality tool back in February, and recently supplemented its Epic and Viewlogic acquisitions by buying verification company Systems Science Inc (CI No 3,460). Cadence launched its first verification tools in May, but hasn’t started shipping them yet. And Mentor Graphics Inc is rumored to be making its first moves into the market shortly. Demand for verification is being driven by the increased complexity of system-on-a-chip strategies. Abstract says there is still a need for strong point tools, and that, six months after the launch, Synopsys customers are coming back to Abstract. You can’t have an ‘almost good-enough’ verification tool he said. Abstract is moving beyond the equivalency checking that the big companies are offering towards model checking, and expects announcements over the next few months. Theorem checking is still four years away, said Rahmani, although knowledge gained from Abstract’s research in that area is feeding back into current products. Abstract has partnerships with Siemens AG, from where its original technology was derived, and with Intel Corp, which took a stake of above $5m in the company back in February.
