The US government has lifted restrictions on exports of chip design software to China, sending shares of top sector players higher on Thursday morning.
The three leading chip design software players - Synopsys Inc (NASDAQ:SNPS, ETR:SYP), Cadence Design Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CDNS) and Siemens - were all notified by the US Commerce Department that the restrictions introduced in May have been rescinded.
US-based Synopsis and Cadence both stated that they are working on restoring access to their software and tools in China.
Germany-based Siemens had already fully reinstated access to its software and resumed normal operations with its Chinese clients, it said.
The US had initially imposed tighter export controls starting in 2022 to restrict China’s access to advanced chip and AI technology, with further tightening earlier in 2025.
The reversal signals an easing in the area of technology trade tensions, although the US government maintains export controls on other companies such as Nvidia.
Shares of Synopsys added 4% at $544 on the news, while Cadence was up 4.7% at $326. Siemens’ European-listed shares added 0.9% at about €221.