ATI Technologies Selects Mentor Graphics for Integrated Verification Tools

WILSONVILLE, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2003--Mentor Graphics Corp. (Nasdaq:MENT) today announced a multiple-year agreement with ATI Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq:ATYT)(TSX:ATY) for an integrated tool suite that will be used to verify ATI's high-performance graphics processors and digital media silicon.

ATI develops the world's highest-performance video processors for desktop, notebook, workstation, set-top box, game console and handheld applications.

ATI Technologies will use the Mentor Graphics(R) VStation(TM) 15M and 30M emulation systems, Calibre(R) DRC, LVS and RVE physical verification products, FastScan(TM), DFTAdvisor(TM) and BSDArchitect(TM) Design-for-Test (DFT) tools. The emulation tools are part of the Mentor Graphics functional verification flow that features tools for full system-level testing prior to tapeout, including emulation and formal verification. The functional verification tool flow complements the tools for physical verification and test, including Calibre for deep submicron verification and FastScan for automatic test pattern generation (ATPG).

Emulation Performance Key to ATI Technologies Customer Win

"We selected Mentor Graphics after careful review and evaluation of competitive products," said Raymond Li, vice president of engineering at ATI Technologies. "The VStation emulators provide the best overall price vs. capacity ratio, compared to the other systems we evaluated. VStation has proven its worth on prior projects at ATI. This latest evaluation confirms that ATI will continue to use hardware emulators to assure the quality and to meet the demanding schedules for our next-generation graphics processors."

ATI will use the VStation-30M system to emulate designs in excess of 20 million gates. The VStation emulators are used by ATI to test design performance using industry-standard benchmarks, such as Winbench and WHQL (for Windows/hardware compatibility), all prior to design tapeout and fabrication.

"As ATI's emulation partner, the company will leverage the proven reliability of our emulation platform and integration with other Mentor Graphics verification and test tools, to help them achieve complete confidence in the quality of their designs," said Eric Selosse, vice president of the Mentor Emulation Division.

Ron White, manager of hardware emulation at ATI, added, "VStation hardware emulators allow ATI to verify new ASIC designs in a way that cannot be accomplished using simulation alone. Mentor Graphics' sales and technical support has been outstanding and this helps make our functional verification process very effective."

Agreement Also Includes Other Industry-Leading Verification

Products

The three-year term license also includes the Calibre family of products, the industry standard for deep submicron verification. Calibre products include Calibre DRC(TM) (design rule checking), Calibre LVS(TM) (layout vs. schematic) and Calibre RVE(TM) (for cell/block and full chip design debugging).

About ATI Technologies

ATI Technologies Inc., is a world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative 3D graphics and digital media silicon solutions. An industry pioneer since 1985, ATI is the world's most foremost visual processor unit (VPU) provider and is dedicated to deliver leading-edge performance solutions for a full-range of PC and Mac desktop notebook platforms, workstation, set-top and digital television, game console and handheld markets. With 2001 revenues in excess of $1B (USD), ATI has more than 1,900 employees in the Americas, Europe and Asia. ATI common shares trade on Nasdaq (ATYT) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ATY).

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of about $600 million and employs approximately 3,500 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: www.mentor.com.

Mentor Graphics and Calibre are registered trademarks and VStation, FastScan, DFTAdvisor, BSDArchitect, Calibre DRC, Calibre LVS, Calibre RVE and FormalPro are trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Mentor Graphics 
             Larry Toda                                
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             Suzanne Graham           
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