CAST to release ASIC cores.

LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 4, 1996-- Design Automation Conference--VHDL model supplier CAST, Inc. today announced the addition of the ASIC Cores Series to its line of prepackaged models for simulation and synthesis.

The first offerings include the IDT 49C410 and AMD 2910A microprogram controllers, and a general DMA controller. These will ship by mid-July; additional cores will follow. Initial customers include Samsung of Korea.

PRODUCT FOCUS EXPANDS

The new cores represent a customer-driven broadening of CAST's business from its initial focus on models intended primarily for FPGA and system designers.

"We've been very happy using CAST's standard parts models to quickly simulat and verify our ASIC design concepts," said Thomson Lam, vice president of research and development for Gainbery Computer Products, Inc., a video-conferencing products producer in Ontario, Canada. "Their new synthesizable cores series should help to further reduce our design cycle, and we're quite pleased to see them growing in this direction."

CORE SERIES GOALS: HIGH QUALITY AND USEFULNESS

CAST is striving to ensure model quality by verifying the new cores with the help of a hardware modeler. In this testing, identical stimuli are applied to the actual physical device being modeled and to the software model under development. This process highlights even minor discrepancies, and makes clear any functionality that isn't fully documented.

"Core models that don't work correctly - or that require tremendous technica support -- are worse than useless for our customers," said Newton Abdalla, president of CAST. "We're always there to help, but our plan is to select devices for modeling that can be immediately and easily used, and to make sure these models are 100% correct."

AFFORDABLE PRICING

Pricing of the new cores is intended to make a core-based methodology accessible to more designers. Both single-use (for one design project) and multi-use (for any number of design projects) prices are offered. Suggested US prices are:

   Core           Single-Use   Multi-Use
  --------------------------------------
   2910A            $6,000      $9,000
   49C410           $6,000      $9,000
   DMA Controller  $10,500     $15,750

CAST AT DAC

CAST will provide more information on the new ASIC Cores Series in a DAC vendor presentation today at 4:00 PM, in exhibit booth #2360, and in their private demo suite.

The new cores and all other CAST models are available worldwide; customers should check the CAST Web site for their local distributors.

CAST, Inc. is located at 24 White Birch Drive, Pomona, NY 10970. Phone: [phone], fax: [phone], e-mail: [e-mail], Web URL: http://www.cast-inc.com.

CONTACT: Paul Lindemann,

PDL Communications,

603/434-3534