Synopsys, Inc. has closed the acquisition of ExpertIO, Inc., a provider of verification IP (VIP) for industry standard protocols. The addition of ExpertIO's team of protocol experts and its strong portfolio of storage Verification IP (VIP) will accelerate Synopsys' delivery of a broad line-up of high-performance, easy-to-use, full-featured VIP that can help designers address their growing verification challenges. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Although the products from ExpertIO do not directly compete with those of Cadence, they are complementary in the sense that they deal with a portion of the data traffic in a system that is as important as that used to interface to memories.

With leading SoC designs deploying more complex protocols, VIP has become a critical component of the verification environment. Synopsys is focused on delivering a broad portfolio of leading standards-based VIP to help engineers address the growing verification challenges associated with creating today's 'smart' electronics. VIP provides functional models of on- and off-chip protocols that verification engineers use to test all of the interfaces on an SoC before manufacturing. It enables the engineer to verify how an interface conforms to published standards and also allows the engineer to verify the interactions among various interfaces on an SoC.

After the Denali acquisition Cadence had the opportunity to establish a comanding position in the VIP market but has been slow to develop a complete portfolio that includes IO protocols. With this acquisition Synopsys has gained a significant share that will certainly compete with Cadence's offerings.

ExpertIO's entire team of engineers is joining Synopsys' Verification Group. Craig Stoops, ExpertIO's Founder and CEO, is joining the team as a technical leader helping drive Synopsys' VIP roadmap.