Nvidia invests $2b in Synopsys, expands AI tools partnership

• The tie-up aims to shift compute-intensive simulation and design workloads—traditionally run on CPUs—onto Nvidia’s GPUs.

Nvidia has invested $2 billion in chip design software maker Synopsys as part of an expanded multi-year collaboration to develop AI-accelerated tools for designing products across industries, the companies said.

The tie-up aims to shift compute-intensive simulation and design workloads—traditionally run on CPUs—onto Nvidia’s GPUs, promising major speed gains for tasks spanning semiconductor design to aerospace engineering.

Synopsys’ software is widely used to virtually simulate designs before costly prototyping; simulations that can take weeks on conventional systems could be reduced to hours on Nvidia hardware, executives said.

Unlocking opportunities

“The order of magnitude speed-up is going to unlock opportunities that have never been possible before,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said at a press conference.

Synopsys CEO Sassine Ghazi said the Nvidia investment provides “optionality” as Synopsys adapts its tools to GPUs, emphasising there is “no intention or commitment to use that $2 billion to purchase Nvidia GPUs.”

The agreement is non-exclusive. Ghazi noted Synopsys remains open to partnering with other chipmakers, including AMD and Intel. Nvidia and Synopsys are also mutual customers, a dynamic that has drawn scrutiny amid Nvidia’s broader investment spree across the AI ecosystem.

The world’s most valuable company has deployed billions of dollars this year into AI-linked firms, from arrangements enabling up to $100 billion for OpenAI to a $5 billion stake in Intel. Synopsys also counts AMD as a customer, while Nvidia collaborates with Synopsys rival Cadence Design.