Fostering a Culture of Innovation at Synopsys Through Pitch Fest

Igniting Semiconductor Innovation Internally

As a large, global company, Synopsys understands the importance of finding ways to ensure employee feedback and ideas about how the company can be improved have a platform to be shared and put into action. What stemmed from a brainstorm between CEO Sassine Ghazi and Brandon Wang, who heads the Chief Innovation Office, was formalized as Pitch Fest, enabling employees to think creatively outside their day-to-day roles.

Ron Duncan, Synopsys senior staff of the Chief Innovation Office and Pitch Fest organizer explained the event’s impact on the company as a whole:

“We’ve reviewed thousands of interesting and innovative ideas touching all verticals, ranging from engineering to finance to marketing. Everyone is thinking about what they can do to improve things, and Pitch Fest mentors are available to help ideas come to fruition and support participants. The event’s impact is felt by observers as well, and the popularity of the event has become somewhat like the Olympics where the finals are live-streamed, watch parties are taking place in break rooms, and teams are rooting for their teammates. This collaborative spirit makes Pitch Fest a truly unique and impactful event.”

It’s not just about the contestants and their ideas. Pitch Fest is a collaborative effort, with mentors also playing a crucial role. While there’s one winner, a third of the ideas submitted are shared for consideration and implementation across business units.

Retaining and Attracting Top Talent

Whether it’s someone who has been at Synopsys for six months or a decade, located anywhere in the world, Pitch Fest is inclusive and encourages every employee to participate. Promoting a culture that inspires innovation attracts great talent who loves solving problems, finding new and efficient processes, thinking outside the box, and making an impact through their careers.

Ed Nathanson, head of global talent brand at Synopsys, reemphasized the impact of Pitch Fest and how the event helps attract innovators and inspire current employees to push beyond their limits:

“One way to retain and attract great talent is to have a workplace culture that embraces innovation, which challenges teammates to think forward-looking and not just reactionary. Pitch Fest is an example of how Synopsys champions and encourages innovation. Instead of telling the world we’re an innovating company, we’re practicing what we preach and showing employees that they live and feel innovation daily.”

Fostering innovation is a key pillar behind Synopsys’ success, and Pitch Fest is another forum to hear new ideas and engage in open, collaborative dialogues with executive leaders. While we are a large company with an appetite for growth, more is needed to push out innovative products that benefit the industry.

Winner Aims to Reduce Global Energy Consumption

Like a hackathon or the popular show Shark Tank, the event consists of idea generation by employees, syncs with mentors and Pitch Fest organizers to refine their ideas, mini rounds of pitching ideas via Zoom, a rigorous review process, and, ultimately, a select group of employees visiting the Sunnyvale headquarters for the semifinal and final pitch rounds to a group of leadership team judges. Ideas are scored in five areas, including:

1. How clear the problem statement is
2. If the solution is novel
3. Quantifiable impact on Synopsys and its customers
4. Execution of the presentation to general managers and senior leadership
5. The feasibility of funding the idea

This year’s Pitch Fest winner recognized the global need for saving power when designing chips. As technology advances, the amount of energy needed to power it continues to increase, and Synopsys is constantly looking for ways to reduce the environmental impact of technology. Whether related to data centers, mobile phones, or artificial intelligence, designing energy efficient chips is critical to creating products that are sustainable. With a goal of cutting energy consumption in half, their idea impacted every part of the chip design flow, from inception to implementation. They shared their thoughts on the process:

“After sharing my idea, it grew legs and became a more extensive team effort than I imagined. I received guidance and support from teammates and senior chip designers. The further I got in the process, the more energized I became. Pitching to senior folks, talking to fellow contestants, and making new friends was exhilarating. I’m proud to work for a company where senior leadership values new ideas and tries to implement and push these ideas forward. I’m very grateful for the experience.”