Cadence dissolving Telos Venture Partners

Speaking on condition of anonymity, executives with three of the 23 companies backed by Telos confirmed Friday (Dec. 16) that they had received formal notification of the dissolution this week. Further details remain sketchy, but the dissolution is effective Dec. 31, according to sources.

A spokesperson for Cadence declined to comment Friday, citing company policy not to comment on rumors. Partners at Telos could not be reached for comment.

Telos is a corporate fund. Cadence is its only limited partner. Cadence executives review its funding decisions, but Telos insists it is not a strategic investor for No. 1 EDA company.

One source said he was not necessarily surprised by the decision, adding that "these things happen, companies pursue new strategies and new directions."

Another source suggested that the move was foreseen some time ago. He pointed out that Cadence already does quite a bit of strategic investing on its own and speculated that the company may have decided it did not need to maintain a separate venture capital company.

All three executives said they did not expect the dissolution of Telos to impact their companies. One suggested that it could even have positive implications.

Telos invests in early stage technology companies seeking first- or second-round financing. The fund targets "next-generation" EDA, fabless semiconductors providers and other technologies related to the semiconductor industry.