BEIJING (Reuters) -A subsidiary of SiCarrier, a Chinese chip equipment maker with close links to Huawei, unveiled two domestically developed software products for semiconductor designs, the latest move by China to reduce reliance on foreign technologies.
Yunqifang, a subsidiary of Shenzhen-based SiCarrier, released two electronic design engineering (EDA) software products with fully independent intellectual property rights, Chinese state-backed media the Paper reported.
EDA software is crucial for designing blueprints of sophisticated semiconductors.
Earlier this year, the U.S. had temporarily imposed restrictions on exports to China for chip design software developers in response to China’s export suspension of rare earths and related magnets.
Analysts had warned that long-term U.S. restrictions on EDA software could severely hinder China’s chip design industry, which remains behind the U.S. in this area of development.
Long-term restrictions on Chinese access to EDA software would have significantly hampered China’s chip design industry, as it lags behind the U.S. in EDA software development.
The announcement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened new export controls on “any and all critical software” by November 1, along with additional levies of 100% on China’s U.S.-bound exports, nine days before existing tariff relief is set to expire.
Founded in 2021 and owned by the Shenzhen city government, SiCarrier has gained prominence in China’s semiconductor sector as its ambitious plans and planned product range come to light amid Beijing’s push for self-sufficiency in critical technologies.
(Reporting by Che Pan and Brenda Goh; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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