Siemens has expanded its electronic design automation (EDA) capabilities by acquiring Canopus AI, a company specialising in AI-driven metrology solutions for the semiconductor industry.

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed by the German conglomerate.

The acquisition was made by Siemens EDA, part of Siemens Digital Industries Software, and aims to enhance precision and efficiency within wafer and mask inspection processes, crucial for advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

Canopus AI’s technology will integrate with Siemens’ existing Calibre Computational Lithography and Manufacturing Physics Simulation platform. This combination is designed to offer a comprehensive end-to-end EDA solution, providing semiconductor manufacturers with the tools needed to optimise design accuracy and improve operational efficiency.

The integration is expected to result in improved fidelity of printed wafer patterns and faster yield ramps, which are critical as the industry continues to push into the angstrom era where dimensions are measured in fractions of a nanometer.

According to Siemens, the acquisition comes at a time when the semiconductor industry faces increasingly complex challenges due to shrinking device geometries and growing production volumes.

Massive metrology, which refers to the precise measurement and analysis of structures, is essential for maintaining quality and yield in advanced fabrication processes. Canopus AI’s solutions are designed to meet these demands by offering advanced AI-powered inspection and measurement capabilities, said Siemens.

Founded in 2021 in Grenoble, France, Canopus AI has developed ‘Metrospection,’ a unique approach that enhances wafer and mask metrology workflows through AI.

The company’s expertise in massive ebeam metrology provides high data throughput and accuracy for optical proximity correction/resolution enhancement technology (OPC/RET) applications. This is said to enable robust edge placement error (EPE) based measurements, early defect identification, and extensive characterisation of process variations.

The acquisition also facilitates the expansion of Siemens’ semiconductor design and manufacturing digital thread by incorporating Canopus AI’s cutting-edge technologies. Through this addition, Siemens aims to offer a high-accuracy semiconductor manufacturing digital twin that allows sub-nanometer process control and mask development. This is particularly vital as manufacturers strive to meet the extreme precision requirements of advanced technology nodes.

Siemens Digital Industry Software president and CEO Tony Hemmelgarn said:  “The acquisition of Canopus AI exemplifies Siemens’ commitment to leveraging industrial AI to solve critical challenges in semiconductor manufacturing.

“By combining the computational lithography and manufacturing physics simulation capability in our Calibre portfolio with Canopus-AI’s advanced metrology and inspection technologies, we are creating a differentiated, end-to-end EDA digital thread that improves the fidelity of printed wafer patterns, accelerates yield ramp and reduces time-to-volume for advanced nodes.

“This integration further advances our vision of a comprehensive, high-accuracy, semiconductor manufacturing digital twin, enabling sub-nanometer process control and mask development.”

Canopus AI extends its offerings beyond two-dimensional metrology with advanced transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for three-dimensional insights. This capability is powered by an engine for synthetic 2D and 3D scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image generation. By leveraging AI and machine learning algorithms, this platform supports computational metrology from vertex-based to pixel-based geometries.

Further capabilities include multigon data support and native curvilinear data operations, featuring best-in-class CD SEM image processing algorithms. The platform allows for automatic processing of hundreds of thousands of CD SEM images, facilitating rapid recipe tuning from data filtering to gauge-based or EPE-based measurements.

Canopus AI’s SEM contour extraction technology will integrate with Calibre’s contour-based OPC/Etch ML model calibration, achieving angstrom-level model accuracy with improved runtime performance. Additionally, the platform offers automatic process window calculation from SEM images collected under various focus and dose conditions, supporting manufacturing process control by monitoring minute changes in SEM image contours during chip production.

Canopus AI CEO Joël Alanis said: “We are delighted to join Siemens and bring the power of AI-enabled metrology in the semiconductor industry to a broader audience as part of Siemens’ EDA community of users.

“Together, we’ll empower innovators pushing the boundaries of semiconductor design and manufacturing with robust wafer and mask metrology and inspection and help them to meet the challenges of the rapidly changing semiconductor industry.”

Prior to this acquisition, Siemens announced a partnership with GlobalFoundries (GF) in December 2025, aimed at integrating AI-driven technologies into semiconductor manufacturing to enhance efficiency and reliability.

The collaboration covers areas such as fab automation, electrification, and the deployment of digital solutions throughout the semiconductor lifecycle. The initiative focuses on implementing advanced AI-enabled software, sensors, and real-time control systems within fabrication environments.