Sask. tech leader expands amid AI and semiconductor boom

Saskatchewan is capitalizing on another tech opportunity with a major expansion in Saskatoon. Keenan Sorokan reports.

Saskatchewan’s largest tech company is ready to grow even larger.

Siemens EDA (electronic design automation), formerly Solido Design Automation Inc., is adding 10,000 square feet at its research and development hub at Innovation Saskatchewan.

The expansion will see the firm have an overall footprint of 45,000 square feet and enable its workforce to grow from 300 to 400.

“From a small startup to becoming the largest tech company in the province making an impact on the world stage,” Amit Gupta, Siemens EDA’s senior vice president and general manager, said.

“This is our made in Saskatchewan story.”

Gupta founded Solido in 2005 out of a 300 square foot office across the street from where he announced the expansion as the company’s CEO, while the Premier of Saskatchewan and dozens of others watched in the company’s lobby.

Seen as a pioneer in using artificial intelligence to automate chip design, Solido underwent rapid expansion in the 2010s before it was acquired by Siemens in 2017.

The software branch of the German multinational company has helped the company grow further using software to power AI to design and build the billions of transistors on a chip the size of a thumbnail.

“This expansion is a direct result of what a dedicated team in Saskatchewan can achieve,” Gupta said. “We are proving that you don’t need to be in Silicon Valley to do the work in technology that has a massive global impact.”

From laptops to smartphones and cars, the reliance on computer chips is increasing and Gupta’s team is helping these chips become smaller, more reliable and less power consuming.

• Download the CTV News app to get breaking news alerts sent to your device

Premier Scott Moe says AI and technology represent a number of opportunities for Saskatchewan.

After Bell Canada unveiled a 300-megawatt, $1.7-billion AI data centre being built just south of Regina in March, Moe says Saskatchewan can play a vital role in the semiconductor industry, which has already surpassed $1 trillion globally and is undergoing further growth that could see the industry double in the next four years.

“Those microchips that power everything from smartphones to vehicles to critical infrastructure that are ultimately ensuring the sovereignty of our nations,” Moe said Wednesday.

“Saskatchewan is well positioned to be a part of that supply chain and to meet that demand.”

With expansion and demand growing rapidly, Siemens Canada says combining the local talent in Saskatoon and its global scale will allow this expansion to better serve customers worldwide.

“It’s always a race. It will continue. The innovation cycles are getting shorter and shorter, so we cannot stop. And we will continue to invest in this business,” Faisal Kazi, the president and CEO of Siemens Canada, said.

Gupta says roughly 80 per cent of Siemens EDA’s hires are graduates from the University of Saskatchewan. As the search for 100 new team members begins, he’s hoping to continue that trend.

He says while Saskatchewan may not have always had the capital to grow tech companies, it certainly does now — and that environment is helping his team grow once again.

“Saskatchewan provides a very supportive platform for us in terms of the university, in terms of investment, in terms to be able to grow in such an amazing space,” he said.