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Open-Silicon was an American semiconductor company based in California that was founded in 2003. The company was a fabless semiconductor company that focused on custom System on Chip (SoC) designs.

Open-Silicon was acquired by SiFive in September, 2021 and was renamed as OpenFive. The unit was subsequently sold by SiFive in March 2022 to Alphawave Semi.cite-ref-dcd1-1-0[1]

• Corporate history

• References

• External links

Open-Silicon was founded in 2003 by Naveed Sherwani, Satya Gupta and Scott Houghton. Initial funding was provided by Sequoia Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, and InterWest Partners.cite-ref-2[2] In December 2007 Unicorn Investment Bank acquired 75% of Open-Silicon for $190M, with the rest of the company employee-owned.cite-ref-3[3]

In May 2007, Open-Silicon acquired Zenasis Technologies, a maker of processor optimization EDA software.cite-ref-4[4] This technology has also been expanded by Open-Silicon to focus on low power design and process variability management.cite-ref-5[5]

In 2009 Open-Silicon acquired design services firm Silicon Logic Engineering (SLE). This acquisition has enhanced the company's derivative IC design capabilities.cite-ref-6[6] In 2010 the company opened new facilities in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Pune, India, to provide additional support for derivative IC design.

Open-Silicon's business model for its ASIC development process was called the OpenMODEL.cite-ref-7[7]cite-ref-dcd1-1-1[1] In 2012, Open-Silicon acquired and grew substantial design operations in Pakistan and Taiwan.

On August 17, 2020, SiFive acquired Open-Silicon and renamed it OpenFive, an independent business unit of SiFive. On Sept. 1, 2022, Canadian semiconductor licensing company Alphawave Semi acquired SiFive’s OpenFive business unit for $210 million.

cite-note-dcd1-11. ↑ "Alphawave acquires SiFive's OpenFive business for $210 million". Data Center Dynamics. March 14, 2022.

cite-note-22. ↑ "Open-Silicon Inc. Secures $19.5 Million in Funding". March 29, 2004. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013.

cite-note-33. ↑ "Bahrain Bank Buys Stake in Open-Silicon". December 24, 2007.

cite-note-44. ↑ "Open-Silicon Acquires Zenasis Hybrid Optimization Technology". May 7, 2007. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012.

cite-note-55. ↑ "When an ASIC Vendor Partners with an EDA Vendor: A New Model". November 12, 2008. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012.

cite-note-66. ↑ "Open-Silicon Acquires Design Services Firm". January 12, 2010.

cite-note-77. ↑ "Open Silicon thriving and hiring in downturn". January 12, 2009.

• SiFive Home page

• Alphawave Semi Home page