Exclusive | China’s ‘rising star’ in chip design software cuts up to half its workforce amid market headwinds
- X-Epic had a workforce of about 400 working in offices in Nanjing, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Shenzhen, as of March 2023, according to PitchBook data.
A leading Chinese chip design software start-up is slashing as much as half of its workforce, casting a shadow over Beijing’s efforts to achieve tech self-sufficiency, according to three people familiar with the matter.
X-Epic, established in 2020 with a mission to develop indigenous electronic design automation (EDA) tools to break the monopoly of US firms, started cutting jobs this week across different departments, including its core research and development unit, according to sources familiar with the situation who declined to be identified as they are not authorised to talk to media.
The company, which is privately owned, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. While it does not disclose details of its business operations, Pitchbook data showed that the firm had a workforce of about 400 working in offices in Nanjing, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Shenzhen, as of March 2023.
The start-up was founded in March 2020 by Wang Libin, a former engineer from US EDA giant Cadence Design Systems. X-Epic, which stands for “accelerating EDA pioneer innovation centre”, had raised US$121.7 million as of March 2023, according to PitchBook. It counts HongShan (formerly Sequoia Capital China), Matrix Partners China, China Information and Communication Technology Group as investors.
