Accenture acquires Excelmax to bolster chip design expertise

Accenture has acquired Excelmax Technologies, a Bangalore-based semiconductor design firm to expand the range of chip design services it offers its clients.

Excelmax was founded in 2019 and is into high-level semiconductor design, detailed physical layout and full turnkey execution.  The firm offers custom silicon solutions for consumer devices, data centers, artificial intelligence (AI), and edge computing applications, with clients in the automotive, telecommunications, and high-tech sectors.

The acquisition aligns with Accenture’s strategy of addressing the growing demand in the semiconductor market, driven by the proliferation of data centers, AI, and edge computing, the companies said.

With this acquisition, approximately 450 Excelmax workers skilled in areas such as emulation, automotive, physical design, analog, logic design, and verification will join Accenture.

It’s not consulting firm’s first chip design acquisition: In 2022, Accenture’s acquired XtremeEDA, an Ottawa-based silicon design services company.

Together, the two acquisitions help Accenture solidify its offering to provide consulting, software, services, and integration support to burgeoning semiconductor companies, both big and small, said Neil Shah, VP for research and partner at Counterpoint Research.

“It also nicely complements its focus on providing solutions for the innovation-driven transformation of high-tech companies,” he said.

Pareekh Jain, CEO of Pareekh Consulting, noted that other consulting companies are following a similar path. The growing importance of semiconductors in smart products, and the growth potential of the semiconductor market itself, are among the factors driving Accenture’s investment in semiconductor services. If Accenture doesn’t invest here, its competitors will, he added.

Counterpoint’s Shah said noted that, with this investment in India, Accenture can participate in the Indian government’s Digital India program and benefit from its Design Linked Incentives (DLI) funding for development and deployment of semiconductor designs in the country.

“Accenture, a significant player in software, services, consulting, and system integration, is moving in the right direction to tap into the semiconductor-driven AI boom. It is diversifying its software and services capabilities for an entirely new vertical,” Shah added. The potential upside for Accenture is large: Gartner forecasts the global semiconductor market will grow 16.8% in 2024 to total $624 billion.