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SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 9, 2001--The design community now has access to best-in-class design methodologies that support Altera Corporation's (Nasdaq: ALTR) programmable logic devices (PLDs), including the high-density, feature-rich APEX(TM) II devices. Altera said today that its APEX II device family, intellectual property synthesis flow, and the LogicLock(TM) incremental design flow are now supported by leading electronic design automation (EDA) vendors such as Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT), Synopsys Inc., (Nasdaq: SNPS) and Synplicity Inc., (Nasdaq: SYNP - ) in the latest version of the Quartus® II development software available today.

``Altera EDA partners contribute significantly to the development of robust and easy-to-use design flows that keep design cycles short and productivity high,'' said Peter Woo, Altera's director of tools marketing. ``Used in conjunction with the Altera's Quartus II version 1.1 design software, these advanced design tools give customers a comprehensive design environment for system-on-a-programmable chip (SOPC) solutions.''

Woo said that as PLDs continue to challenge ASIC densities, the design flows that support PLD's must evolve to accommodate multi-million gate designs as well as provide the performance and features needed for today's leading-edge complex system. With Altera's robust EDA partnerships, the Quartus II version 1.1 development software provides a high-performance design environment to meet the ever-increasing demands of the design community.

Mentor Graphics joins Synopsys and Synplicity in support of Altera's APEX II device family, the newest high-density PLDs that deliver the performance and bandwidth required for complex SOPC applications.

``Mentor Graphics has worked closely with Altera to ensure that the support of the APEX II devices provides maximum performance throughout our entire FPGA Advantage design flow,'' said Valerie Rachko, director of marketing for FPGA Advantage. ``Mentor is the only EDA vendor to provide a complete design environment specifically tailored to the needs of Altera APEX II customers, including intellectual property, design capture, simulation, synthesis, and hardware/software co-verification.''

An OEM version of the LeonardoSpectrum(TM) software (ver. 2001.1d) is included as part of the standard package in Altera's software subscription program.

Meanwhile, ASIC design and verification solutions leader Synopsys has partnered with Altera to further reduce the design cycle for programmable logic designs. In version 3.6 of its FPGA Compiler II software, Synopsys delivers Block Level Incremental Synthesis (BLIS) for Altera devices. BLIS integrates with Altera's LogicLock incremental design methodology available exclusively to Altera's Quartus II development software users. The result is a significant productivity improvement as synthesis, placement and routing times are all reduced by running only on blocks which have changed in a particular design revision.

``Altera's introduction of an incremental design flow demonstrates their dedication to delivering innovative methodologies for the next generation of PLD designs,'' said Jackie Patterson, director of FPGA marketing at Synopsys. ``Synopsys' BLIS technology bolsters the LogicLock incremental design flow with powerful synthesis technology to increase performance and give customers more control over their design results.''

Synplicity has collaborated with Altera to produce a seamless synthesis flow for Altera MegaCore® intellectual property blocks. Intellectual property (IP) has become a mainstream requirement in programmable logic designs. In order to provide better support for customers incorporating IP blocks into their designs, users can now evaluate IP cores throughout the entire design process by using the synthesis software from Synplicity.

``The integration of Altera MegaCore intellectual property cores with the Synplify Pro product allows designers to obtain the best performance for designs using MegaCores,'' said Jeff Garrison, director of marketing for programmable logic at Synplicity. ``We have been working closely with Altera to build next-generation SOPC methodologies for our rapidly expanding customer base.''

Pricing and Availability

Quartus II version 1.1 software is available to all customers on active subscription today. Altera's software subscription program simplifies the process of obtaining Altera development tools by consolidating all software products and maintenance charges into one annual subscription payment. The annual subscription for the Altera development tools is $2,000 for a node-locked PC license, which includes full-featured Quartus II and MAX+PLUS® II development software, OEM synthesis tools from Exemplar, OEM simulation tools from ModelTechnology, and 12 months of software upgrades. New or existing customers may obtain a software subscription at the Programmable eStore on the Altera web site, http://www.altera.com, or from Altera distributors worldwide.

About Altera

Altera Corporation, The Programmable Solutions Company®, was founded in 1983 and is a leading supplier of programmable logic devices (PLDs). Altera's CMOS-based PLDs are user-programmable semiconductor chips that enhance flexibility and reduce time-to-market for companies in the communications, computer peripheral, and industrial markets. By using high performance devices, software development tools, and sophisticated intellectual property cores, system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions can be created with embedded processors, memory, and other complex logic together on a single PLD. Altera common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ALTR. More information on Altera is available on the Internet at http://www.altera.com.

Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, the stylized Altera logo, specific device designations and all other words that are identified as trademarks and/or service marks are, unless noted otherwise, the trademarks and service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other product or service names are the property of their respective holders.

     Altera Corporation
     Ami Dorrell, 408/544-6879
     adorrell@altera.com
      or
     PR21
     Susannah Stanford, 415/369-8105
     susannah.stanford@pr21.com