Altera Expands Into San Diego With New Applications Engineering Center.

Business Editors/Technology Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2000

Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR), a leading supplier of programmable logic devices (PLDs), today announced the establishment of a new Altera Applications Engineering Center in the Sorrento Valley area of San Diego, California.

Altera is the first PLD company to establish a support center in the San Diego area. The Applications Engineering Center will provide support to customers predominantly in the fast-growing communications industry. These customers are using Altera's leading-edge PLD technology to enhance and expand the infrastructure for the internet and related services.

"We are very excited to join one of the country's premier technological communities as we grow to meet the demands of our rapidly expanding customers," said Erik Cleage, Altera senior vice president of marketing. "Our San Diego Applications Engineering Center will increase our ability to provide the level of customer support required to design complex system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions."

"San Diego is at the forefront of high-tech innovation, and the number of high-tech employees in our city is at an all-time high," said San Diego Mayor Susan Golding. "I am pleased to welcome Altera Corporation to the growing high-tech industry in San Diego."

As a fabless semiconductor manufacturer with revenues of $836 million in 1999, and an expected year over year growth rate of over 70 percent in 2000, Altera is a world leader in programmable logic devices, and the pioneer of SOPC solutions. With corporate headquarters in San Jose, California, it serves over 14,000 customers worldwide, focusing on communications, electronic data processing, and industrial applications. The company employs over 1800 people worldwide.

"Applications engineering provides a unique role for engineers who enjoy the challenge of technical system design, while offering day-to-day interaction with customers to help them develop innovative solutions," said Dale Heath, Altera director of applications for the San Diego-based facility. "Altera's new San Diego-based Applications Engineering Center will play an important role in strengthening and expanding our capabilities for providing technical support to companies worldwide."

For opportunities in our new San Diego facility, please visit the San Diego jobs page on our web site, at http://www.altera.com/sandiego.

Safe Harbor 

This press release contains a "forward-looking statement" that is 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". 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, market acceptance and market demand, the design performance of software tools, as well as the company's 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.

About Altera

Altera Corporation, 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.

Note to Edtiors: Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, 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.