Synopsys Halts Sales, Services In China

Chip design software company Synopsys has told employees in China to stop services and sales in the country and halt new orders after receiving an order from the US Commerce Department last week, Reuters reported.

Reports last week said the US government had ordered a wide range of companies to stop shipping goods to China and revoked licences that had already been issued to some suppliers.

Synopsys and other US chip design software companies were reported to be amongst those affected, as well as chemicals for making computer chips.

Internal order

After receiving the letter from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security Synopsys on Thursday suspended its annual and quarterly forecasts.

The following day it sent an internal memo to staff in China saying it believed it was required to halt sales and services in the country immediately.

“Based on our initial interpretation, these new restrictions broadly prohibit the sales of our products and services in China and are effective as of May 29, 2025,” the memo said, according to Reuters’ report.

The company said it was ensuring compliance by blocking sales and fulfilment in China and halting new orders until it received further clarification.

All customers located in China are affected, including employees of multinational companies at sites in China and Chinese military users in any location, the memo said.

Chinese customers have been blocked from accessing Synopsys’ customer support portal, the memo added.

Software offerings from Synopsys, Cadence and Siemens EDA are used to design chips for uses ranging from smartphones to automobiles.

Trade war

The three companies control more than 70 percent of China’s electronic design automation (EDA) market, Xinhua reported last month.

In April the Commerce Department ordered Nvidia to halt sales of its H20 AI accelerator chip in China, causing the company to write off billions in sales and inventory.

Nvidia has said it is considering developing a new chip for the Chinese market, but the offering is unlikely to fully make up for H20 sales, analysts have said.