Primarius buys two IP firms for 2.17B yuan to build first Chinese EDA+IP platform

What's the deal? Shanghai-based EDA vendor PrimariusDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (概伦电子) will acquire 100% of Chengdu chip IP firm 锐成芯微Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and 45.64% of 纳能微电子 for about 2.17 billion yuan. The China Securities Regulatory Commission approved the registration on June 26, 2026, and Primarius plans to integrate both firms' IP resources to link its EDA tools and IP into one platform.

What's the endgame? The deal turns a tools-only vendor into a one-stop chip design provider, combining EDA software, verified physical IP libraries, and design services. Primarius bills the result as the first domestic EDA+IP "full-chain" platform for chip design and manufacturing support.

Why now? The acquired firms fill specific gaps: 锐成芯微 covers analogue and mixed-signal, embedded memory, wireless RF, and wired interface IP; 纳能微电子 focuses on high-speed interface and analogue IP. In electronic design automation (EDA), IP blocks are pre-verified, reusable design modules — but they need EDA tools to be integrated and simulated, making the two a natural pairing.

What could go wrong? China's EDA and IP industries have long developed separately, and most firms focus on a single lane. As 锐成芯微 chief executive officer 沈蕾 put it, mature toolchains mean independent IP firms "can choose the customer-specified or industry-standard environment" without owning their own EDA tools — so the strategic logic of merging is not automatic.

The signal: The move mirrors the global leaders. SynopsysDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → completed its $35 billion AnsysDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → acquisition in July 2025 to fold multiphysics simulation into its stack, while CadenceDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has been buying aggressively, including Arm's Artisan foundation IP and a €2.7 billion deal for HexagonDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s design and engineering unit. US export curbs sharpen the domestic case: in May 2025, the Bureau of Industry and Security ordered Synopsys, Cadence, and SiemensDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to halt chip design software supply to China, where the three hold over 80% of the market. Against that backdrop, Primarius's "late marriage" of EDA and IP marks Chinese players finally adopting the integrated model their global rivals treat as standard.

Read more: 36氪

Image credit: JamesIrwin