Some news about our collaborator, it might be irrelevant but still good to see Synopsys wants to accelerate and speed up the process of validation. Synopsys is not the only one that wants to speed up the process of valdiation, design and delivery to customer but Globolfoundries is working on acceleration process as well.

Synopsys Expands IP Accelerated Initiative with New DesignWare IP Prototyping Kits for 10 Interface Protocols

IP Prototyping Kits Enable Designers to Accelerate Prototyping, Software Development and Integration of IP into SoCs

• DesignWare IP Prototyping Kits, part of Synopsys' IP Accelerated initiative, provide the essential hardware and software elements needed to reduce IP prototyping and integration effort by up to six weeks
• Proven, out-of-the-box reference designs with Linux OS and reference drivers enable designers to start implementing and validating specific IP configurations in an SoC context
• Now available for DesignWare USB 3.0, SSIC, PCI Express 3.0 and 2.0, MIPI CSI‑2, HDMI 2.0, JEDEC UFS and DDR Memory Controller IP

Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS), a global leader providing software, IP and services used to accelerate innovation in chips and electronic systems, today expanded its IP Accelerated initiative with new DesignWare® IP Prototyping Kits for 10 interface protocols, including USB 3.0, SSIC, PCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0, DDR3, LPDDR3, LPDDR2, MIPI CSI-2, HDMI 2.0 and JEDEC UFS. DesignWare IP Prototyping Kits provide the essential hardware and software elements needed to reduce IP prototyping and integration effort by up to six weeks. With the IP Prototyping Kits, hardware designers have a proven reference design that can be easily modified to explore design tradeoffs and validate a specific configuration of the IP, and software developers have a proven target for early software bring-up, debug and test.

"The DesignWare IP Prototyping Kit for USB 3.0, along with its proven reference design, helps accelerate our early driver and software development and enable us to start FPGA validation up to six weeks earlier," said Jay Liang, CTO and vice president of engineering at NationZ. "In addition, the IP Prototyping Kit improves our SoC's overall quality by helping us quickly validate the hardware and software design in numerous real-world scenarios."

With the increase in SoC hardware and software complexity, companies need more from their IP providers to help meet their time-to-market schedules. To help address designers' growing SoC design and integration challenges, DesignWare IP Prototyping Kits provide proven reference designs that enable designers to start implementing the IP in an SoC context in minutes. The kits include a Synopsys HAPS®-DX FPGA-based prototyping system with pre-configured IP and SoC integration logic, a PHY daughter board, simulation testbench, reference drivers and application examples. The kits include either a host PC connection running the target operating system such as Windows®, Linux®, or others, or a DesignWare ARC® processor-based 32-bit software development platform running Linux. Designers can modify the standard IP configuration for their target application through a fast iteration flow consisting of Synopsys' coreConsultant IP configuration tool, Synopsys' ProtoCompiler DX development and debug tool, and compilation scripts.

"As semiconductor companies face significant time-to-market pressures, increasing software content and more complex SoCs, they expect more from their IP providers to help them achieve their design goals," said John Koeter, vice president of marketing for IP and prototyping at Synopsys. "With the DesignWare IP Prototyping Kits, designers can achieve faster time to first prototype, easier IP integration and earlier software development, all of which help them accelerate their time-to-market."

http://www.sys-con.com/node/3234615

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