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Activist Elliott takes multibillion-dollar stake in Synopsys, WSJ reports

By Thomson Reuters Mar 22, 2026 | 6:19 PM

March 22 (Reuters) – Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has a multibillion-dollar investment in Synopsys, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing ​people familiar with the matter.

Elliott plans ‌to engage with Synopsys to push the business to make more money from its software and services, the report said.

There is a “clear opportunity for Synopsys’ financial performance ‌to ​more fully reflect the value ⁠it delivers,” Elliott ⁠Managing Partner Jesse Cohn told the Journal, adding that “as AI drives a step change in chip complexity and capital investment, Synopsys is uniquely ​positioned to benefit from this growth.”

“Synopsys’ Board of Directors and management team regularly engage with our shareholders ⁠on a range of issues and ⁠value their input,” the company said ​in an emailed statement to Reuters.

Elliott did not immediately respond ​to a Reuters request for comment outside ‌regular business hours. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

California-based Synopsys, valued at over $80 billion, has for decades been one of the main ⁠suppliers of software used in determining how to arrange the tens of billions of transistors that make ⁠up chips from ‌firms such as Advanced Micro ⁠Devices and Nvidia, which last year ​invested $2 ‌billion in Synopsys.

Elliott sees room for ​Synopsys to ⁠boost sales and improve margins to be more in line with those of Cadence Design Systems, its closest rival, the report added.

(Reporting by Devika Nair and Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by ​Aurora Ellis)