Open-Silicon
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Semiconductor |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Founder | Naveed Sherwani, Satya Gupta, Scott Houghton |
| Defunct | 2020 |
| Fate | Acquired by SiFive and rebranded as OpenFive; later sold to Alphawave Semi in 2022 |
| Headquarters | California , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | System on Chip (SoC) solutions |
Open-Silicon was an American semiconductor enterprise headquartered in California, established in 2003. Operating as a fabless semiconductor organization, it concentrated on delivering tailored System on Chip (SoC) solutions.
In September 2021, the company was purchased by SiFive and subsequently rebranded as OpenFive. Later, in March 2022, SiFive divested OpenFive to Alphawave Semi for a transaction valued at $210 million.
Corporate history
The origins of Open-Silicon trace back to 2003 when Naveed Sherwani, Satya Gupta, and Scott Houghton founded the company, initially financed by investors including Sequoia Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, and InterWest Partners. By December 2007, Unicorn Investment Bank acquired a controlling 75% interest for $190 million, with the remaining shares retained by employees.
In May 2007, Open-Silicon expanded its capabilities through the acquisition of Zenasis Technologies, an EDA software company specializing in processor optimization. This technology was further developed to incorporate solutions for low power consumption and management of process variability.
The purchase of Silicon Logic Engineering (SLE), a design services firm, in 2009 strengthened Open-Silicon’s expertise in derivative IC design. To support these design efforts, the company established new offices in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Pune, India in 2010.
Open-Silicon implemented its ASIC development using the OpenMODEL business methodology. By 2012, it had grown significant design operations across Pakistan and Taiwan.
On August 17, 2020, SiFive acquired Open-Silicon and renamed it OpenFive, operating it as an independent division. This entity was later sold to Alphawave Semi on September 1, 2022 for $210 million.