Electronic Design Automation, or EDA, is a market segment consisting of software, hardware, and services with the collective goal of assisting in the definition, planning, design, implementation, verification, and subsequent manufacturing of semiconductor devices, or chips. Regarding the manufacturing of these devices, the primary providers of this service are semiconductor foundries, or fabs. These highly complex and costly facilities are either owned and operated by large, vertically integrated semiconductor companies or operated as independent, “pure-play” manufacturing service providers. This latter category has become the dominate business model.