Synopsys Opens Industry-Proven Milkyway Database; Provides Access to Design Database to Further Industry-Wide Tool Interoperability

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 3, 2003--Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS), the world leader in integrated circuit (IC) design software, today announced that it has opened third-party access to its production-proven Milkyway(TM) design database. Customers and electronic design automation (EDA) tool vendors can now link their tools directly into the Milkyway environment through either a scripting language application programming interface (API) or a C-based API. Access to Milkyway will benefit customers and EDA companies by reducing integration costs and advancing tool interoperability for the electronics industry. Milkyway is the most widely used database for IC design implementation and advanced technologies extending to 90 nanometers (nm) and below.

"Opening Milkyway is a continuation of Synopsys' long-standing track record of supporting customers' requests for interoperability, with initiatives such as Liberty(TM), SDC, SystemC(TM), and OpenVera(TM)," said Aart de Geus, chairman and chief executive officer at Synopsys, Inc. "Milkyway is a proven database with thousands of tapeouts. The design community will benefit from the ability to interface their own and third-party tools with a widely used common database."

"As a worldwide independent semiconductor vendor, we rely heavily on a wide range of EDA technologies and platforms, for the design of our dedicated systems-on-a-chip, and we have always strived for higher standardization and better interoperability across the EDA industry," said Philippe Magarshack, group vice president for Design Automation, Central Research and Development at STMicroelectronics. "Synopsys' IC implementation tools and Milkyway are production proven, and we are relying on them for many designs in our 130- and 90-nanometer technology platforms. The ability to access Milkyway through an open API will allow our other key EDA suppliers to plug their tools into our Synopsys' Milkyway-based design flow. This announcement represents a significant step towards a standard interface to the design database, which should lead, we believe, to better interoperability across the whole EDA industry."

"We welcome Synopsys' move to open the Milkyway design database to the EDA community," said Genda Hu, vice president of Corporate Marketing at TSMC. "The Synopsys Milkyway design database has been a part of the backbone of the TSMC Reference Flow for years, and our customers have successfully taped-out many designs based on Synopsys tools. By opening Milkway, Synopsys smartly provides multiple paths for implementing innovative system-on-chip designs."

"Agilent's commitment to excellence in system-on-chip test with our single-scalable platform and per-pin architecture is well aligned with EDA-generated design data," said Tom Newsom, vice president and general manager of Agilent's Automated Test Group. "Opening access to the Synopsys Milkyway design database enables closer linkages between design and test environments, resulting in shorter time to market and lower cost of test."

"The Synopsys Milkyway database is a leading foundation for modern IC designs and in use at many of our current customers," said Patrick Romich, chief executive officer of Synchronicity Software, Inc. "By offering access to this database through a production-proven C-API, Synopsys enables Synchronicity with the capabilities to provide our world-class design management system to leading-edge designers at 130 nm, 90 nm and below."

Access to Milkyway Database with Broad Industry Support

Electronic design automation tool vendors can link their tools directly into Synopsys' Milkyway database via industry-standard interfaces and Milkyway APIs. More than 40 universities and semiconductor, electronic design automation, test and manufacturing and intellectual property (IP) companies have announced their support for opening Milkyway. For a complete list of supporting statements, please visit: www.synopsys.com/products/milkyway/milkyway_qs.html. Also, in a separate announcement, Synopsys today announced its new Galaxy(TM) Design Platform, built on the Milkyway database.

Milkyway Access Program (MAP-in(SM))

The Milkyway environment is available to all EDA vendors through Synopsys' new program, MAP-in. MAP-in gives members free access to a copy of the Milkyway environment documentation and software, a runtime license for the APIs for integration development, an invitation to Synopsys' EDA Interoperability Developers' Forums, access to Synopsys' Secured User Research Facility and an online Milkyway discussion forum. In addition, there is an annual, comprehensive service option for those who would like a deeper level of support. Fourteen EDA companies have joined MAP-in.

Availability

The Milkyway environment with Scheme API software and documentation is available immediately for download through the MAP-in website at: www.synopsys.com/partners/mapin. Access to the Milkyway C-API linkable libraries for C developers is now in limited availability.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements regarding the expected benefits of the Milkyway database and the expected date of availability of the Scheme API software. These statements are based on Synopsys' current expectations and beliefs. Actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these statements as a result of a number of factors including unforeseen technical difficulties in linking certain third party EDA tools to Milkyway and completing the release version of the Scheme API software, as well as other factors contained in Synopsys' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2002.

About Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS) is the world leader in electronic design automation (EDA) software for integrated circuit (IC) design. The company delivers technology-leading IC design and verification platforms to the global electronics market, enabling the development of complex systems-on-chips (SoCs). Synopsys also provides intellectual property and design services to simplify the design process and accelerate time-to-market for its customers. Synopsys is headquartered in Mountain View, California and is located in more than 60 offices throughout North America, Europe, Japan and Asia. Visit Synopsys online at http://www.synopsys.com/.

Synopsys is a registered trademark of Synopsys, Inc. Milkyway, Liberty, SystemC, OpenVera and Galaxy, are trademarks of Synopsys, Inc. MAP-in is a service mark of Synopsys, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Synopsys, Inc.
             Isela Gamboa, 650/584-1644
             igamboa@synopsys.com
              or
             Edelman Public Relations
             Darren Ballegeer, 650/429-2735
             darren.ballegeer@edelman.com