US imposes new rules to curb semiconductor design software sales to China

It appears the Trump administration has imposed new export controls on chip design software as it seeks to further undermine China’s ability to make and use advanced AI chips.

Siemens EDA, Cadence Design Systems and Synopsys all confirmed that they have received notices from the U.S. Commerce Department about new export controls on electronic automation design (EDA) software to China.

EDA tools are primarily used to aid with the design and validation of semiconductor manufacturing, testing, and for monitoring performance and quality. They are used by chip foundries, chipmakers, networking hardware companies, the automotive industry, and many more.

Siemens EDA, a division of German tech conglomerate Siemens, told TechCrunch that it has received a notice from the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) last week about new export controls on EDA software to China and Chinese military end users.

“Siemens has supported customers in China for more than 150 years and will continue to work with our customers globally to mitigate the impact of these new restrictions while operating in compliance with applicable national export control regimes,” the company said.

U.S.-based Synopsys, which also makes EDA software, said on Thursday that it had also received a similar letter from the BIS. The company also suspended its forecast for the third quarter and full-year 2025.

Cadence also received a notice from the BIS saying a license is now required for “the export, re-export or in-country transfer of electronic design automation software” to customers in China.

The news was first reported by The Financial Times.

The new export rules come as the U.S. ramps up its efforts to hinder Chinese companies as the battle for AI supremacy heats up. But these export controls are increasingly hurting the U.S. chip industry, which has long enjoyed significant market share in China.

Nvidia alone has incurred billions in losses due to restrictions on sales of its H20 and Hopper AI chips to Chinese customers. The company, along with rival AMD, is even said to be working on selling lower-powered versions of its AI chips to Chinese customers.

The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately return a request for comment outside regular business hours.