Forte Design Systems

About Forte Design Systems

Forte Design Systems, Inc. operated as a key provider of high-level synthesis (HLS) software, also known as electronic system-level (ESL) synthesis, within the semiconductor industry. The company's journey began in 1998 when John Sanguinetti, Andy Goodrich, and Randy Allen founded it under the name C2 Design Automation. A year later, it rebranded to CynApps, focusing on C-based synthesis and RTL translation tools. A significant milestone occurred in 2001 when CynApps merged with Chronology, a company founded in 1990, giving rise to Forte Design Systems.

The company's core business revolved around its flagship product, Cynthesizer, a SystemC-based HLS tool. This software enabled chip engineers to design complex electronic systems by describing their functionality as a pure algorithm in SystemC, a higher level of abstraction compared to traditional hardware description languages like Verilog or VHDL. The primary benefit was the ability to automate the creation of a hardware architecture, allowing designers to specify performance targets like clock cycles and have the tool generate the corresponding hardware implementation. This process significantly streamlined the design workflow, as modifications to performance could be achieved by redirecting the tool rather than undertaking a manual redesign. The output from Cynthesizer was Verilog code, ready for the subsequent logic synthesis stage. Forte's business model centered on licensing this specialized software to semiconductor companies. By 2012 and 2013, Cynthesizer was utilized by 31% of high-level designers, making it the most used ESL tool at the time.

Forte's growth trajectory included strategic acquisitions, such as Arithmatica in 2009, whose CellMath Designer tool was subsequently integrated into Cynthesizer to enhance its capabilities. The company's success and market position culminated in its acquisition by Cadence Design Systems on February 14, 2014. This acquisition was a strategic move by Cadence to bolster its own HLS offerings, combining the synthesis engine of Cynthesizer with the graphical features of its existing C-to-Silicon tool to create the Stratus HLS platform in 2015. The entire Forte executive team, including CEO Sean Dart and founder John Sanguinetti, joined Cadence's System & Verification Group following the acquisition.