Altair has acquired an electronic design automation firm called Modeliis, whose tools target embedded sensors and autonomous cars. Modeliis' main products simulate C code and include a high-performance Spice circuit simulator.
Modeliis sells modeling software under the brand Icone, which works with many popular languages like Labview and Matlab. Its 3D simulation software helps engineers find signal integrity problems and optimize interconnects in deep sub-micron chips. The Grenoble-based company had been a subsidiary of Easii IC, a French engineering firm that designs ASICs and FPGAs.
In contrast, Altair's simulation software is widely used to model automobiles and electromagnetic devices and manage workloads in corporate computers. The Modeliis deal gives it foothold in electronic design automation tools that it previously had to license from industry giants like Cadence and Synopsys.
“Simulation and optimization are fundamental to the design of communication and controls for everything from personal devices to autonomous vehicles,” said James Scapa, Altair’s chief executive, in a statement. Altair didn't say how much it was paying for Modeliis or when the deal would close.