GlobalFoundries Boosts Chip IP with Synopsys ARC and RISC-V Acquisition

GlobalFoundries has significantly expanded its intellectual property portfolio through a definitive agreement to acquire the Processor IP Solutions business from Synopsys. This marks the company’s second major CPU IP acquisition within a year, following its purchase of MIPS, and represents a strategic move to broaden its offerings across automotive, embedded, industrial, wearables, and other emerging applications. The deal brings Synopsys’s ARC and RISC-V processor IP into the fold, enabling GlobalFoundries to provide a more comprehensive suite of technologies that combine standard CPU cores with customized accelerators.

This acquisition transfers a range of processor IP assets to GlobalFoundries, including ARC-V (RISC-V) cores, classic ARC CPU cores, and DSP and NPU IP utilizing the ARC framework. The company also gains access to critical software ecosystems like the ARC MetaWare development toolkits. Furthermore, the deal includes Synopsys’s ASIP Designer and Programmer toolchains, which automate the creation of application-specific instruction-set processors. These tools allow for the integration of base CPU cores with custom instructions and accelerators, with immediate compiler support.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the transaction is expected to close in the second half of the year. Both companies have planned a coordinated transition to ensure existing Synopsys Processor IP customers experience no disruption in support. Upon completion, the acquired assets and expert teams will become part of MIPS, which operates as a distinct entity within GlobalFoundries. This structure allows MIPS to continue licensing IP to companies that may not use GlobalFoundries’ manufacturing services.

The integration creates a powerful combination. The RISC-V architecture offers an extensible, open-source instruction set with a rapidly growing software ecosystem. Meanwhile, the value of ARC lies in its high configurability, enabling developers to build specialized processors, or ASIPs, tailored to specific workloads. By combining RISC-V general-purpose cores with bespoke ARC accelerators, GlobalFoundries can offer customers a significant edge, particularly in markets where specialization and efficiency trump raw peak performance.

ARC processors are fundamentally different from standard CPUs. They utilize a compressed ISA that allows designers to add custom instructions, accelerators, and modify datapaths. The accompanying software toolchain automatically adjusts to these hardware changes. This results in processors shaped for a specific task, which can deliver higher performance-per-watt and more predictable performance than systems built with off-the-shelf IP.

GlobalFoundries aims to build a complete processor IP ecosystem, ranging from RISC-V cores to specialized DSPs, NPUs, and other accelerators. This strategy is designed to reduce customer adoption barriers, accelerate time-to-market, and foster deeper client relationships through integrated IP licensing and embedded software solutions. Following the acquisition, the company will align ARC and MIPS designs with its own process technologies and packaging options. This internal alignment minimizes incompatibilities between architectural intent and physical implementation.

For customers, this translates to access to a wide array of silicon-proven IP blocks. They can integrate these into their own designs or develop new cores using the ARC ISA, significantly speeding up the journey from initial design to mass production. This predictability and reduced development time are crucial for embedded designs with long lifecycles, where cutting costs and reaching market quickly often outweigh the pursuit of leading-edge transistor density.

Many fabless companies focusing on emerging applications lack the resources to assemble a full compute stack independently. Traditionally, they would license CPU IP from one vendor and accelerator IP from another before mapping the design to a foundry’s process. With its expanded portfolio, GlobalFoundries can now offer a bundled suite of proven IP from a single source, promising greater flexibility, potentially lower costs, and a much faster path to silicon. This move subtly shifts GlobalFoundries from a pure-play foundry toward a more integrated solutions provider.

The company is deliberately reshaping its role in the semiconductor value chain. By combining its manufacturing with in-house processor IP, including RISC-V, ARC, and technologies from earlier acquisitions like silicon photonics, GlobalFoundries offers a tightly integrated path from architecture to finished silicon. This strategy targets growth in automotive, industrial, embedded, and physical AI markets.

For clients, the ARC and RISC-V pairing provides a standards-based ISA for general computing, coupled with the freedom to create workload-specific extensions without needing approval from a proprietary architecture owner like Arm. This could open new business opportunities with cost-conscious startups, entities requiring sovereign chip designs, or customers navigating export controls. Given GlobalFoundries’ manufacturing presence in Asia, Europe, and the U.S., a stronger, policy-resilient IP portfolio holds added strategic value.

Looking ahead, the focus will likely be on integrating MIPS and ARC. If further acquisitions occur, they would logically target adjacent technologies like controller, connectivity, or security IP to deepen the platform without transforming into a full integrated device manufacturer. Acquiring IP for advanced packaging or certified software for automotive and industrial applications are other plausible avenues to add further layers of customer value.

These acquisitions represent a calculated expansion of GlobalFoundries’ value proposition, moving beyond manufacturing to encompass physical IP and software. The company is positioning itself as a platform partner that not only fabricates and packages chips but also helps define the IP inside them. This strengthens its competitive stance against other foundries, including TSMC and its Open Innovation Platform ecosystem. For customers, the integrated ARC and MIPS offering promises accelerated development cycles, greater customization, improved efficiency, and a measure of protection against geopolitical supply chain uncertainties.

(Source: Tom’s Hardware)