Synopsys Inc has acquired electronic design automation tools and services supplier Gambit Automation Design Inc, according to a report in EE Times. The company had not confirmed the report by press time. San Jose, California-based Gambit has developed EDA and lay-out tools using parallel processing technology, including the Grandmaster gate-array lay-out system, but has supplemented its product income with design lay-out services. Synopsys has used as back-end systems for its own EDA tools. Synopsys took a 12.5% stake in the company back in October 1997.
Separately, Synopsys said it will support the Linux operating system for a future release of its Verilog VCS simulation product. The company said that it would support the Red Hat version of Linux, and that the new port was currently in beta testing. The first commercial release is expected in July 1999. The CoverMeter code coverage tool is also being ported to Linux. The tools currently run on Unix and Windows platforms.
