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In the electronic design industry, turning innovations into a lucrative business venture is a big risk. You need millions just to start running and its not like having a blog. Thanks to a offshoot from Mentor Graphics Corp. called Cre8Ventures, they have partnered with The Institute for System Level Integration (ISLI)  to provide access to Mentor Graphics EDA software to startups for free. And people said there are no free lunches around anymore.

Why the free lunch ? Well helping startups is crucial as the business can have lower startup cost. If they succeed, then there's the prospect of more sales or even a stake in the startup. Clever indeed but it's a medium to short term investment.


source says :

EDA companies are often called upon to donate EDA tools to early-stage startups for free or at low-cost on the promise that if the company is successful they will subsequently buy suits of tools from the same EDA suppliers. Alternatively EDA tool vendors may take equity stakes in startups instead of payment for tools.