Cadence Contribution to Accellera Boosts Efforts to Standardize IC Design Kits for Designers.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Device-Level Schematic Symbol Set to Improve Interoperability and Cycle Time Efficiencies Across the Design Chain

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CDN)(Nasdaq:CDN) today announced that it has contributed its custom-design schematic symbol set to the OpenKit Initiative. Part of Accellera, the electronics industry organization focused on electronic-design-automation (EDA) standards, the OpenKit Initiative is dedicated to establishing standards for the design kits used by all integrated circuit (IC) designers. These standards are targeted at improving interoperability and cycle time efficiencies across the electronics-design chain, while decreasing custom intellectual property (IP) or IC design costs. The Cadence contribution will form the basis of an open standard for the electronic representation of device symbols.

Design kits provide the design rules, device models, schematic symbols and associated formats required by EDA tools during the design entry, simulation, implementation and verification steps of IC design. With the emergence of the design chain, design kits have become essential for linking semiconductor manufacturers and design teams developing IC-based products. With no current standards, nomenclature, use models, interfaces, quality thresholds, and delivery structures can vary widely, depending on the selection of tools, library or IP and targeted foundry requirements. The OpenKit Initiative has been working to address these problems since January 2004, and the Cadence donation represents a critical first step in creating standards for the design-capture phase of custom IC design.

"This is a great example of how Accellera works with leading EDA companies to accelerate the development of standards important to the growth of our industry," said Dennis Brophy, chairman of Accellera. "Cadence's contribution is the first step in establishing an IEEE standard for a schematic symbol set."

James Roberts, CAD engineer at Qualcomm, the co-chair of the front end working group, added, "As a user of multiple process design kits (PDKs), it has always been frustrating to move designs from one PDK to another and then have to correct the wiring in every circuit because of vendor-specific symbol footprints. This symbol standard will go a long way towards easing that problem."

"Cadence has long been recognized as the de facto standard for device-level schematic symbols," said James Lin, vice president of Technology Infrastructure at National Semiconductor. "Cadence's contribution of their symbol set to an industry-wide, open-standards committee is a significant move towards standardizing design kits."

"Cadence has long been a leader in providing support for open standards across the industry to better serve our customers," said Jan Willis, senior vice president of Industry Alliances at Cadence. "Working with groups such as Accellera and Si2, we are actively involved in defining the standards that are necessary to ensure that software, IP, and libraries interoperate seamlessly in our customers' design and manufacturing environments. This contribution continues to demonstrate our commitment to collaboration, based on open standards, to facilitate the growth of the industry, as well as our customers' success."

Accellera provides design standards for quick availability and use in the electronics industry. The organization and its members cooperatively deliver much-needed EDA standards that lower the cost of designing commercial IC and EDA products.

About Cadence

Cadence is the world's largest supplier of electronic-design technologies and engineering services. Cadence products and services are used to accelerate and manage the design of semiconductors, computer systems, networking equipment, telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics, and other electronics-based products. With approximately 4,900 employees and 2004 revenues of approximately $1.2 billion, Cadence has sales offices, design centers, and research facilities around the world. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and trades on both the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq under the symbol CDN. More information is available at www.cadence.com.

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