One of the top 3 chip design software companies in US halts China sales after Trump administration's 'ban letter'

Synopsys

, one of the top three semiconductor design software companies in the US, has reportedly instructed its staff in China to cease all services and sales within the country and to stop accepting new orders. This directive, outlined in an internal letter reviewed by news agency Reuters, is in response to latest

US export restrictions

targeting China.The report said that Synopsys, a large provider of electronic design automation (EDA) software used in chip design, suspended its annual and quarterly forecasts on Thursday (May 26) after receiving notification of the new restrictions from the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security.Soon after the

Trump administration

's 'China ban letter', the company sent an internal letter to staff in China on Friday (May 30), stating that the restrictions "broadly prohibit the sales of our products and services in China and are effective as of May 29, 2025."To ensure compliance, Synopsys confirmed that it is blocking all sales and fulfillment in China and pausing new orders pending further clarification.

Notably, these measures apply to all customers in China, including employees of global clients operating within China, and Chinese military users worldwide. Synopsys has reportedly disabled Chinese customers' access to its customer support portal, SolvNetPlus.

Why this is significant for both US and China

The development comes a day after the US government ordered numerous companies to halt product shipments to China without a license and revoked existing licenses for certain suppliers. These measures impact critical products, including design software and chemicals essential for semiconductor manufacturing.Synopsys, alongside

Cadence

and Siemens EDA, controls over 70% of China's EDA market, as per Chinese news agency Xinhua. Restricting Chinese firms' access to these US-made EDA tools is likely to significantly impact the Chinese chip design industry, which heavily relies on such advanced software.