The global electronic design automation industry posted $5.7B in revenue for Q1 2026, a 12.5% year-over-year increase driven largely by Asia-Pacific strength, according to the latest ESD Alliance market statistics published by SEMI.
Asia-Pacific led all regions with 17.7% growth, reflecting surging chip design activity from hyperscalers developing in-house silicon and from contract design houses serving China’s expanding fabless sector. North America grew 9.2% while Europe posted 6.8% gains.
PCB and multi-chip module design tools grew fastest at 18.3% as advanced packaging demand from AI accelerator manufacturers pushed engineering teams toward early-stage system-in-package exploration. Semiconductor intellectual property revenue reached $1.3B, up 14.1%, with processor core and memory controller blocks seeing the strongest licensing demand.
Computer-aided engineering revenue hit $1.6B, up 11.2%, as simulation-driven verification workflows became standard across leading design teams. The services category grew 15.4% to $627M.
The EDA industry’s sustained double-digit growth underscores a structural shift: more companies are designing chips in-house. Major cloud providers including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft now operate internal silicon groups, while automotive and industrial firms have launched their own ASIC programs. This trend expands the addressable market beyond traditional semiconductor companies into system-level OEMs, creating sustained demand for design tools, IP, and verification services through the remainder of 2026.
