FirstPass Engineering
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersCastle Rock, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
FirstPass Engineering firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- FirstPass Engineering
- Legal name
- FirstPass Engineering
- Website
- https://firstpasseng.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
FirstPass Engineering industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Semiconductor Design Services
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Embedded & Compute Modules (SoMs, COM Express/SMARC, industrial SBC modules) (IMAGAJAK)
Keywords
Where FirstPass Engineering is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Castle Rock
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
FirstPass Engineering business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- IC Design Services: Provides IC design services with flexible engagement models from architecture or product specification development to full turnkey designs. Services span the entire semiconductor design lifecycle.
Go-to-market motion1 record
FirstPass Engineering product offering
Product offeringCore offering
FirstPass Engineering provides specialized IC design services for aerospace, defense, and federal clients, delivering high-quality ASIC and FPGA development across the full semiconductor design lifecycle. Engagements range from architecture or product specification development to full turnkey SoC designs, with flexible contracting models (turnkey SoC, subsystem block level, and consulting). As a DMEA-accredited trusted supplier to the U.S. Department of Defense, the company provides secure design environments for classified and DMEA-sanctioned SoC and FPGA programs.
Product overview
FirstPass Engineering is a subsidiary of Synopsys System Solutions Group (SSG) offering specialized IC design services. The company operates as a single core service offering focused on providing responsive IC design services with flexible engagement models. Services range from architecture or product specification development to full turnkey designs, specifically serving Aerospace & Defense as well as Federal government clients with secure and safe support for DMEA-sanctioned and Department of Defense (DoD) SoC and FPGA designs.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- FirstPass Engineering IC Design Services Comprehensive IC design services providing high-quality, responsive design execution with flexible engagement models — from architecture or product specification development to full turnkey SoC designs — for Aerospace & Defense and U.S. federal clients, including secure support for DMEA-sanctioned and DoD SoC and FPGA programs.
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 30 years of trusted defense semiconductor design partnership
Companies that use FirstPass Engineering
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
FirstPass Engineering technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
FirstPass Engineering partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- NVIDIAflagshipStrategic partnership announced in December 2025 to revolutionize engineering and design. NVIDIA collaboration with Synopsys aims to advance AI-driven chip design capabilities.
- Synopsys (Parent Company)coreFirstPass Engineering operates as a subsidiary of Synopsys System Solutions Group (SSG), leveraging Synopsys' comprehensive EDA tools, methodologies, and ecosystem partnerships including foundries, third-party IP providers, and EDA partners to deliver complete semiconductor solutions.
- TSMC Design Center Alliance (DCA)coreTSMC Design Center Alliance (DCA) Partner providing access to TSMC foundry services and support as part of the Synopsys ecosystem for complete semiconductor design-to-silicon solutions.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
FirstPass Engineering competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cadence Design Services: Cadence's design services arm directly competes with FirstPass in ASIC and SoC design services for aerospace, defense, and federal clients. Both offer EDA-anchored IC design services with similar engagement models spanning architecture to tape-out.
- Synopsys System Solutions Group (SSG): FirstPass's parent operating unit also sells IC design services to commercial and defense clients. SSG is the broader services organization within Synopsys that houses FirstPass and provides overlapping capabilities in ASIC/FPGA design and turnkey SoC programs.
- HDL Design House: HDL Design House is a specialized ASIC/FPGA design services firm providing digital and analog design, verification, and turnkey SoC services — directly comparable to FirstPass's offering though typically serving commercial rather than defense clients.
- Truechip Solutions: Truechip provides ASIC/SoC design and verification services across multiple industries. It is a direct services peer to FirstPass though typically serving commercial clients without DMEA-equivalent clearances.
Broad incumbents
- Marvell Technology: Marvell is a large incumbent semiconductor company with a meaningful defense and aerospace custom silicon practice, including custom ASIC design services for federal and aerospace customers — overlapping with FirstPass's defense microelectronics focus.
- Microchip Technology: Microchip (including legacy Microsemi) supplies FPGAs and aerospace/defense-grade silicon with associated design services for DoD programs. It competes with FirstPass for defense microelectronics design service contracts while also offering proprietary silicon products.
- BAE Systems Electronic Systems: BAE Systems operates in-house ASIC/FPGA design capabilities for defense applications and is a potential customer or competitor to FirstPass on classified DoD microelectronics programs where trusted supplier status is required.
Emerging players
- Aldec: Aldec provides FPGA design tools and engineering services for verification and digital design, including aerospace and defense customers. It overlaps with FirstPass on FPGA-focused design services, with narrower scale and a verification-centric positioning.
- Flex Logix Technologies: Flex Logix provides embedded FPGA IP and related design services. While more focused on IP licensing than full turnkey services, it represents an emerging player in the FPGA/SoC design ecosystem where FirstPass competes.
Others
- S2C (Synopsys-adjacent FPGA prototyping): S2C provides FPGA prototyping hardware and design services used in SoC/ASIC verification flows. It is an ecosystem participant adjacent to FirstPass's design services, sharing customers in the FPGA/ASIC development pipeline.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
FirstPass Engineering compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
FirstPass Engineering financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
FirstPass Engineering leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
FirstPass Engineering funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
FirstPass Engineering M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about FirstPass Engineering
What does FirstPass Engineering do?
FirstPass Engineering provides specialized IC design services for aerospace, defense, and federal clients, delivering high-quality ASIC and FPGA development across the full semiconductor design lifecycle. Engagements range from architecture or product specification development to full turnkey SoC designs, with flexible contracting models (turnkey SoC, subsystem block level, and consulting). As a DMEA-accredited trusted supplier to the U.S. Department of Defense, the company provides secure design environments for classified and DMEA-sanctioned SoC and FPGA programs.
Is FirstPass Engineering a public or private company?
FirstPass Engineering is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was FirstPass Engineering founded?
FirstPass Engineering was founded in 1995. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is FirstPass Engineering based?
FirstPass Engineering is headquartered in Castle Rock, United States, in the North America region.
How does FirstPass Engineering make money?
One revenue line is on record: IC Design Services.
Who are FirstPass Engineering's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cadence Design Services, Synopsys System Solutions Group (SSG), HDL Design House and Truechip Solutions. Broad incumbents are Marvell Technology, Microchip Technology and BAE Systems Electronic Systems. Emerging players are Aldec and Flex Logix Technologies. S2C (Synopsys-adjacent FPGA prototyping) is listed as an others.
Does FirstPass Engineering have an API?
No public API is recorded for FirstPass Engineering.
What industry is FirstPass Engineering in?
FirstPass Engineering's product category is Semiconductor Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAGAJAK, Embedded & Compute Modules (SoMs, COM Express/SMARC, industrial SBC modules). Its NAICS code is 54151 and its SIC code is 8711.