Synopsys
Synopsys is an American electronic design automation (EDA) and semiconductor IP company founded in 1986 as Optimal Solutions by Aart de Geus and others. It went public in 1992, trades on NasdaqNasdaqNasdaq is an exchange operator and financial technology company headquartered in New York. It runs The Nasdaq Stock Market and other markets and provides capital markets technology, regulatory technology, and data and index services. Founded in 1971, it combined with OMX AB in 2008, and in March 2026 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved its rules for trading tokenized securities.Open the full entry as SNPS and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a U.S. state on the Pacific coast; its capital is Sacramento and its largest city is Los Angeles. California was admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850, as the 31st state. Its population at the 2020 Census (April 1, 2020) was 39,538,223, the largest of any state.Open the full entry. It completed its acquisition of Ansys in July 2025. NVIDIANVIDIANVIDIA is an American semiconductor and computing technology company that provides graphics processing units, artificial intelligence infrastructure, networking interconnects, and computing software, and is listed on Nasdaq under the ticker NVDA.Open the full entry board chair Harvey C. JonesHarvey C. JonesHarvey C. Jones is an American entrepreneur and investor in electronic design automation who co-founded Daisy Systems in 1981, led Synopsys from 1987 to 1998 and co-founded Tensilica in 1997. An NVIDIA director since 1993, he became NVIDIA’s first-ever chair of the board on November 11, 2026.Open the full entry led the company from 1987 to 1998.
Contents8 sections
Key facts
1986Founded as Optimal Solutions
Aart de Geus, who led a team at General ElectricGE AerospaceGE Aerospace is the name under which General Electric Company operates, a jet engine maker listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker GE.Open the full entry’s microelectronics center, conceived a new software technology called Synthesis, letting engineers write a circuit’s function in a hardware description language and have software generate the design. In 1986 de Geus and several other engineers formed Optimal Solutions with General Electric’s support to develop Synthesis software; after building a prototype the company moved to Mountain View, California, and renamed itself Synopsys (from SYNthesis OPtimization SYStems).[1]
1987–1998Led by Harvey C. Jones
In 1987 Harvey C. Jones, who had co-founded and led Daisy Systems, became Synopsys’s president and chief executive. Revenue grew from $130,000 in 1987 to $976,000 in 1988 and $7.3 million in 1989. NVIDIA’s board page states that Jones led Synopsys between 1987 and 1998, serving as chief executive for seven years and then as executive chairman.[1][2]
1992Initial Public Offering
Synopsys completed its initial public offering in 1992, by which time its customers included nine of the top ten computer makers and the top 25 semiconductor companies and it held more than 75 percent of the logic synthesis tools market. Before the offering, president Harvey C. Jones said in an Electronic Business interview that the company had no interest in being a tool vendor in someone else’s strategy.[1]
1997–2002Expansion Through Acquisitions
The company acquired Logic Modeling in 1994, spent about $1 billion to acquire Epic Design Technology and Viewlogic Systems in 1997, and acquired Avant! Corporation in 2002.[1]
July 17, 2025Completing the Acquisition of Ansys
Synopsys announced the completion of its acquisition of Ansys, the simulation and analysis software company, a deal first announced on January 16, 2024. President and CEO Sassine Ghazi called it a transformational milestone; former Ansys president and CEO Ajei Gopal and former Ansys director Ravi Vijayaraghavan joined Synopsys’s board immediately, and Ansys common stock was delisted from Nasdaq.[3]
Today: Business and Scale
Synopsys’s website lists trailing-twelve-month revenue of about $9 billion, about 25,345 employees and R&D investment of more than 25 percent of revenue, and describes the company as first in EDA, in interface and foundation IP, and in simulation and analysis.[4]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Synopsys: Official website: https://www.synopsys.com/ (opens in a new window).[4]
LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: https://www.linkedin.com/company/synopsys (opens in a new window).[4]
YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: https://www.youtube.com/user/synopsys (opens in a new window).[4]