Cadence to Acquire AWR Corporation from National Instruments to Accelerate System Innovation for 5G RF Communications

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. and National Instruments Corporation  announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Cadence expects to acquire AWR Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Instruments (NI).

AWR is an industry leader in high-frequency RF EDA software technology and will bring a highly talented RF team to Cadence. Concurrently, Cadence and NI also entered into a strategic alliance agreement to expand their relationship to enhance electronic system innovation with a focus on communications

Companies designing communication and radar chips, modules and systems face increasing time-to-market pressure in high-growth 5G/wireless applications. Creating differentiated products while reducing cycle time requires a seamless design, simulation and analysis environment. The addition of AWR’s talent and technologies will enable us to provide more integrated and optimized RF design solutions, thereby further accelerating system innovation as we execute our Intelligent System Design strategy.

AWR software is used by microwave and RF engineers to design wireless products for complex, high-frequency RF applications. The technology helps customers accelerate the design and product development cycle of systems used in communications, aerospace and defense, semiconductor, computer, and consumer electronics, by helping reduce the time it takes to go from concept to manufacturing.

Designers are challenged with the traditional RF/microwave design flow, which consists of processes that are error-prone, resulting in a loss of productivity and capability. Customers can benefit from a seamless integration connecting the AWR® Design Environment with the Cadence® Allegro® PCB Designer and the industry-leading Virtuoso® and Spectre® platforms for RF integrated circuit (IC) design excellence. Electromagnetic and thermal analysis is often difficult and tedious for a designer to setup and use. To address this, the integration also includes Cadence system analysis tools such as the Clarity™ 3D Solver, Celsius™ Thermal Solver and Sigrity™ PowerSI® technologies.