Accenture Acquires Bengaluru-Based Chip Design Startup Excelmax Technologies

On July 8, Accenture released a public statement announcing the acquisition of Excelmax Technologies, a semiconductor design business located in Bengaluru. The transaction’s terms were not made public.

Excelmax offers clients in the automotive, telecommunications, and high-tech industries specialized silicon solutions that are utilized in consumer electronics, data centers, artificial intelligence (AI), and computing platforms that enable edge AI deployments.

“Accenture’s acquisition of Excelmax Technologies brings approximately 450 highly skilled silicon professionals to our Advanced Technology Centers in India,” stated Mahesh Zurale, global lead for Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centers Global Network. As the need for silicon solutions grows worldwide, India is developing into a center for chip creation. Enhancing our talented workforce in the fields of firmware engineering, verification, emulation, and physical and RTL design in the nation will enable us to grow our silicon design capabilities and spur innovation for our global clientele.

This purchase comes after the acquisition of Ottawa, Canada-based semiconductor design services provider XtremeEDA in 2022.

Related: Cognizant’s Acquisition of ER&D Services Company Belcan Sealed for $1.3 Billion

Excelmax was established in 2019 and offers complete turnkey semiconductor solutions, ranging from thorough physical layout ready for manufacturing to high level design.

The company expands Accenture’s capabilities to help global clients accelerate edge computing innovation by adding over 450 specialists to Accenture in critical areas like emulation, automotive, physical design, analog, logic design, and verification.

Shekhar Patil, the founder and CEO of Excelmax Technologies, stated, “Our focus has always been on developing the best talent to deliver tailor-made solutions for our global clients that help them build and maintain competitive advantage.” “Joining Accenture allows us to stay at the forefront of innovation and offers our people and clients new and exciting opportunities.”

Accenture has pursued an inorganic growth strategy in its capabilities. It has bought 35 companies for a total of $5.2 billion (around Rs 43000 Crore) in FY24 (YTD). The business has previously purchased Indian and India-based businesses.

“More complex, specialized chips with improved performance and efficiency are required with the rapid evolution of new technologies like generative AI and the growth of connected products,” stated Karthik Narain, group chief executive—Technology at Accenture.

The growth of data centers and the growing use of edge computing and artificial intelligence (AI) are driving up demand for silicon design engineering in the semiconductor business. The increasing desire for electronics among consumers, which is fueling new investments in the chip design industry, is another factor supporting this.

Similar to Accenture’s acquisition, the engineering design industry has seen some of the biggest M&A deals by international and Indian IT services companies. Cognizant just revealed that Belcan will be acquired by them for $1.3 billion (around Rs 13000 Crore). In a similar vein, Infosys paid $480 million (around Rs 4200 Crore) to purchase in-tech, a German company.

The Acquisition is just an addition to Accenture’s larger plan to remain ahead in technology adoption, adaptation and evolution. Buying Excelmax provides an impetus to Accenture’s capabilities for competing with other industry leaders like Cognizant. We can definitely expect more number of similar acquisitions in India as well as globally.