Altera and Barco Silex Partner to Provide System-On-A-Programmable-Chip Design Services.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LOUVAIN LA NEUVE, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2001

Barco Silex, a micro-electronic design house, and Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR), a leading supplier of programmable logic devices (PLDs), today announced a partnership that will provide customers with system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) design services. Barco Silex has become a member of Altera's Certified Design Center (CDC) program and will provide system-integration design service which involves intellectual property (IP) integration and Altera's new Excalibur(TM) embedded processor solutions.

"As an Altera Certified Design Center partner, Barco Silex will bring its system-on-chip (SoC) expertise to the SOPC world," said Craig Lytle, Altera vice president of the intellectual property business unit. "Barco Silex will enable customers to integrate embedded processors, intellectual property (IP), and their own customized logic into a single programmable device." As an ARM-Approved Design Center, Barco Silex has the expertise to deploy Altera's Excalibur embedded processor solutions, which combine logic, memory and a Nios(TM), ARM(R)-based or MIPS(R)-based embedded processor core. Additionally, Altera will provide Barco Silex with in-depth training on its range of SOPC product solutions.

With the ability to offer both design services as well as IP, Barco Silex will benefit customers by acting as a single point of contact for SOPC designs to substantially reduce time-to-market and system cost. "The CDC program allows the customer to address their need for a single point of contact, with SoC expertise," said Thierry Watteyne, founder and general manager of Barco Silex. "This results in a time-to-market, or shall we say, rush-to-money design realization."

"The partnership with Altera can be seen as a continuation of our expertise and strategy with ARM-based designs," said Geert Decorte, Barco Silex European marketing manager. "We are pleased to be a part of the CDC program."

About Barco Silex

Barco Silex is a micro-electronic design house belonging to the Belgian Barco electronic group and having his offices in Belgium close to the Belgian capital Brussels and France in the region of Aix-en Provence. Currently, Barco Silex is an ARM Approved Design Centre. More information on BARCO SILEX can be obtained on http://www.barco-silex.com.

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 Editors: Altera, The Programmable Solutions Company, Excalibur, Nios, and specific device designations are trademarks and/or service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. ARM is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. MIPS is a registered trademark of MIPS Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders