How Mirabilis Design’s Partnership with Cadence Could Redefine System Architecture Exploration
In an industry where the pace of innovation often outstrips the tools available to support it, the recent announcement from Mirabilis Design and Cadence Design Systems could mark a turning point for system architects and design engineers worldwide.
Earlier this month, Mirabilis Design Inc. revealed that Cadence will now offer VisualSim Architect as part of its system design portfolio, through an OEM agreement aimed at delivering advanced system-level modeling and performance optimization.
This partnership is more than a simple licensing deal — it could signal a long-overdue shift toward greater adoption of architecture exploration and early design validation in semiconductor and systems engineering.
I recently had the chance to sit down with Deepak Shankar, Founder and VP of Technology at Mirabilis Design, to unpack the significance of this announcement, the story behind the deal, and what it all means for the future of system design.
The full interview is available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS9KduZcHas
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Watch the interview: Cadence Partners with Mirabilis Design | VisualSim Architect Now OEM for System ModelingThe Road to OEM: A Market-Driven Partnership
For years, system-level modeling and architecture exploration were the domain of niche players, largely ignored by the broader EDA industry. "Architecture exploration was not something the EDA world took seriously until quite recently," Shankar told me. "But with AI, data centers, and automotive systems becoming increasingly complex, the need to visualize and prototype at a system level before development has become critical."
Over the past two years, conversations with Cadence intensified, as customer demand for better early-stage modeling tools grew. "Cadence saw that our solution was the best fit for this need — and frankly, we’re the only players in town doing this kind of architecture exploration at this level."
The result: VisualSim Architect will now be promoted and marketed by Cadence sales teams globally, reaching far more system architects and engineers than Mirabilis could have reached on its own.
VisualSim Architect: What Sets It Apart?
What exactly does VisualSim Architect do? According to Shankar, it allows designers to build visual prototypes of large, mission-critical systems long before any RTL coding or hardware development begins.
This includes modeling everything from processors, memory hierarchies, and interconnects to RF and analog components, networks, and software applications — all in a single executable model.
Where traditional tools often rely on code-intensive environments like SystemC or C++, VisualSim offers a graphical modeling environment with hundreds of pre-validated IP library blocks.
This makes it easier for architects to rapidly explore trade-offs across core count, network bandwidth, latency, power consumption, and task mapping.
"In the last three to four years, we’ve worked hard to develop a solution that’s universal across market segments," Shankar explained. "It’s not locked into one domain — our customers span AI/ML, aerospace, automotive, 5G edge, and hyperscale data centers."
Why Cadence?
What’s in it for Cadence? According to Yogesh Goel, Corporate VP at Cadence, it’s about giving customers tools that can keep pace with their ambitions:
"Our customers are building increasingly complex systems that demand early and accurate analysis of performance, power, and resource utilization," Goel noted in the joint press release. "VisualSim brings a level of modeling efficiency and system insight that traditional code-heavy tools struggle to match."
By embedding VisualSim Architect into its suite, Cadence can offer customers a much more integrated flow — from early system exploration through to implementation — shortening cycles, reducing risk, and improving collaboration across engineering teams.
The Benefits: Faster, Smarter Design Decisions
For customers, the partnership means:
- Faster architectural trade-off exploration
- Optimized performance and power before RTL or board designs
- Improved validation of models, thanks to Cadence’s extensive IP portfolio and emulators
- Global support, via Cadence’s worldwide presence
It also brings much-needed visibility to system-level modeling — a practice Shankar believes is critical to future success in complex markets like AI and autonomous vehicles.
AI, The Shrinking EDA Landscape, and What’s Next
As EDA industry veterans know, industry consolidation and shrinking events like DAC have reduced opportunities for engineers to discover new tools.
Partnering with Cadence solves that problem for Mirabilis: "With Cadence’s reach, awareness of VisualSim will expand much faster," said Shankar.
AI also looms large in Mirabilis Design’s roadmap. The company is actively using AI tools internally for model validation and optimization and is preparing to launch AI-powered capabilities for automated architecture optimization — a step that could save teams months of effort.
An Evolving Company, An Evolving Industry
For Shankar, who recently relocated from Silicon Valley to Chennai, India, the partnership also reflects a personal and professional evolution.
Now operating from a city better known for its automotive industry than electronics, Shankar balances business travel with rowing, tennis, and long runs on the beach. "Being here allows me time to recharge — and think strategically about where the company is headed."
That direction is clear: major product updates are in the pipeline for later this year, including entirely new solutions targeting previously underserved segments of the system design space.
Final Thoughts
The Mirabilis–Cadence partnership could be a pivotal moment in making architecture exploration mainstream — a development long overdue in an industry grappling with ever-growing complexity.
For engineers and system architects facing impossible design challenges, tools like VisualSim Architect promise to bring clarity — and confidence — earlier in the process. Thanks to this agreement, those tools will soon be far more accessible.
As Shankar puts it: "We believe this will help teams deliver better, faster, and more energy-efficient products — and that’s what it’s all about."
The full interview with Deepak Shankar is now live here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yS9KduZcHas