Cadence to Pay $140 Million for Selling Chip Design Tech to Blacklisted Chinese University

The company is accused of selling export-controlled technologies to a university affiliated with the Chinese military.

The logo of Cadence Design Systems outside the company's offices in San Jose, Calif., on Jan. 31, 2020. Stephen Nellis/Reuters

Cadence Design Systems, a leading developer of electronic design automation (EDA) software and hardware, has agreed to pay a $140 million fine to settle claims that it illegally sold semiconductor design technology to a Chinese military university on the U.S. government’s export blacklist.

The San Jose-based technology company admitted wrongdoing as part of a plea agreement announced on July 28 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California.