CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive

22 June 2008

Company News

Magma Expanding China Operations, Launching University Program

Magma® Design Automation Inc. announced that Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Madhavan will preside over openings of the company's new offices in Beijing and Shanghai, the latest developments in Magma's efforts to build world-class operations in China. With today's opening ceremonies the company adds 18,000 square feet of office space in Beijing and Shanghai, an increase of nearly 140 percent. This expansion will allow Magma to continue to build its analog and digital IC design research and development (R&D) team and to provide local customers with enhanced support. The company has also launched a university program.

"Driven by computing and consumer electronics demand, the Chinese semiconductor market is projected to surpass $28 billion in 2011," said Rajeev Madhavan, CEO of Magma. "Doing business here requires an understanding of the dynamic characteristics of the Chinese market, the role of the government and the differences in business practices. By growing our operations here, providing leading-edge technology, leveraging the growing pool of talented EDA and IC engineers, increasing our local support and strengthening key relationships, Magma will demonstrate its commitment to facilitating this growth."

Magma established its first Beijing facility in 2003 and added offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Magma China continues to recruit the best engineering talent for its R&D team, which is expected to play an important role in the development of the company's digital design implementation and analog and custom design software. Sarah Xu, Ph.D. was appointed to the role of managing director of Magma China, is tasked with increasing internal operational efficiency, and will act as the primary liaison to universities and intellectual property and electronic design automation (EDA) partners.

Two-Pronged University Program to Grow Talent Pool and Foster Semiconductor Research

Magma also announced today a two-pronged strategy for working with local universities to grow engineering talent pool and foster research. One aspect of the strategy is providing professors with course material, software and dedicated support for training students to use the Magma software. Additionally, Magma will contribute to China's leading design automation research labs.

"To continue developing its semiconductor ecosystem, China is putting strong emphasis on engineering education and software development," Xu said. "We are pleased to support these efforts by working with local universities to train engineers on Magma's advanced EDA software and contribute to important research."

"The Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is very excited to be launching its first VLSI CAD course this fall. Magma has provided our professors with course material and has trained them to use Magma's software," said Ying Wang, executive dean of the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "This close collaboration with Magma will enable us to teach our students how to design advanced ICs using cutting edge software, skills that will be important to furthering their career."

"We've worked closely with Magma in a number of areas including an internship program and joint research program," said Yici Cai, professor at Tsinghua University Computer Science Department. "With this successful collaboration as a foundation, we look forward to extending our relationship through the formal university program."

"Magma is an extremely valuable partner," said Xuan Zeng, vice dean of the School of Microelectronics at Fudan University. "Many of our graduate students have joined Magma's Shanghai R&D team. Recently the company also agreed to fund Fudan University's EDA research program and I am confident that this will yield important advances in electronic design automation."

For more information about Magma China's university program, call the Magma office in Beijing at 86-10-8260-7060.

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