Altera's APEX II Family Provides World's Fastest RapidIO Capability for Programmable Logic.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2001

Altera's (Nasdaq:ALTR) APEX(TM) II devices can deliver 16 gigabits per second (Gbps) throughput when implementing a RapidIO physical layer interface, making the devices the highest-performing programmable logic-based solution for the emerging packet-based interconnect protocol. Additionally, APEX II devices offer 36 total LVDS channels, allowing them to act as full-bandwidth bridges between a 16-Gbps RapidIO interface and another LVDS-based interface, such as POS-PHY Level 4.

"RapidIO will play an important role in delivering the performance required in next-generation systems," said Tim Colleran, Altera vice president of product marketing. "The builders of these systems will be able to use APEX II devices to rapidly develop their products while achieving the high level of integration and flexibility that our system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions offer."

Announced in April, the APEX II device family is Altera's next-generation high-performance, high-density PLD family for SOPC applications. Building on the successful APEX architecture, the APEX II device family marks a breakthrough in capability and system performance that will for the first time place programmable logic directly in the datapath of high-performance communication applications. Altera is currently working with select customers on APEX II device designs. The first device will be the EP2A15, sampling this quarter.

About Altera

Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR), The Programmable Solutions Company(R), 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.

Safe Harbor 

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are generally preceded by words that imply a future state such as "expected" or that imply that a particular future event or events will occur such as "will". Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements in this release involve risks and uncertainty, including without limitation the risk that future performance is dependent on product development schedules, the design performance of software and other tools, as well as the company's and third parties' development technology and manufacture capabilities. Please refer to the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, copies of which are available from the company without charge.

Note to Editors: Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, APEX, and specific device designations are trademarks and/or service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.