Like many technology industry segments, the electronic design automation (EDA) chip tool space is not immune to buzzy technology trends that attract the attention of the “Big Three” tool vendors – Synopsys, Siemens EDA (formerly Mentor Graphics), and Cadence. The effect of these trends is to set off a horse race that pits each company’s particular approach against the others. Today, that EDA space trend is Silicon Lifecycle Management. In an earlier story, Design News covered Synopsy's expansion into the chip product lifecycle space. Now it’s time for another perspective. Many industry insiders point to Siemens EDA (the new name for pioneering EDA company Mentor Graphics) and its June 2020 acquisition of the UK-based silicon lifecycle leader UltraSoc as the next significant play for the current silicon lifecycle trend.