NEC Micro Systems Standardizes On Novas Debug Software; Design Company Cuts Debug Cycles, Uses Debussy for Advanced LSI and SoC Designs

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 17, 2003--Novas Software, Inc., the leader in debug systems for complex chip designs, today announced that NEC Micro Systems, Ltd. recently signed a multi-year, volume purchase agreement for the Novas Debussy(R) Debug System. The premier large-scale integration (LSI) design company of NEC Electronics Corporation first deployed Debussy three years ago as their standard integrated circuit (IC) debug tool. This new contract confirms Novas as the preferred debug platform for accelerating development of advanced LSI components, ASIC devices and systems-on-chip (SoC), all of which are getting bigger, faster and more complex.

Mr. Junichi Oomori, group manager of 1st Design Systems Development Group for NEC Micro Systems' Advanced LSI Division said, "We selected Debussy three years ago after a very thorough investigation. Debussy proved not only to be high quality and very stable, it also contributed greatly to improving the efficiency of debug. Based on these factors, along with the professional support we receive locally from Novas' Japanese distributor Novaflow, NEC Micro Systems is now standardizing on Debussy for our leading-edge developments. We expect Debussy's track record of cutting debug time will continue to be instrumental."

"We're most pleased to have NEC Micro Systems as a long-time customer, and are honored by their confidence in Novas," said Johnson Teng, vice president of Asia for Novas. "NEC Micro Systems has successfully taken on the challenge of bringing newer, more innovative design solutions to market faster than ever before and without sacrificing quality. We believe their Debussy experience demonstrates that our debug platform is up to the task for next-generation IC and SoC design."

About Novas' Debussy

The Debussy Debug System speeds the resolution of design problems for complex ICs by automating the tracing, visualization and analysis of causes and effects in Verilog, VHDL and mixed-language descriptions. Debussy's architecture is based on a robust database of design knowledge that addresses design complexity and reuse issues by helping engineers quickly and thoroughly understand complicated or unfamiliar code. Users consistently report that Debussy cuts their debug time in half. Debussy is tightly integrated into standard chip design and verification flows through industry alliances with more than 25 leading providers of commercial logic simulators, formal verification software and hardware emulators.

About Novas

Novas is the pioneer of knowledge-based debug systems that reduce the functional verification costs for complex IC designs. Building upon the strength of its market-leading Debussy(R) Debug System, Novas' Verdi(TM) Behavior-Based Debug System further improves the efficiency of designers in the system-on-chip era with advanced design exploration and debug capabilities. These allow design teams to better understand and analyze complex or unfamiliar design behavior, and cuts by half or more the time it takes to locate, isolate and understand the root causes of design problems. There are more than 10,000 Novas systems in use today at customer sites worldwide. Novas is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. with offices in Europe, Japan and Asia-Pacific. For more information visit http://www.novas.com or send email to info@novas.com

About NEC Micro Systems, Ltd

NEC Micro Systems develops system LSIs and software, and also provides system integration services as one of the group companies of NEC Electronics Corporation. NEC Micro Systems' core competencies are in advanced SoC development, system-level solutions, and producing designs with high quality and reliability. For more information, please visit http://www.necms.com/

Debussy is a registered trademark and Verdi is a trademark of Novas Software, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Novas Software, Inc., San Jose
             Lorie Bowlby, 408/467-7871
             lorie@novas.com
             or
             Public Relations for Novas
             Wired Island, Ltd.
             Laurie Stanley, 510/656-0999
             laurie@wiredislandpr.com