Cadence Offers Free Upgrade to Synplicity Synthesis Engine for Owners of Orcad Express FPGA Design Solution.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2000

New Cadence FPGA Studio Series also Offered to Express Owners

at Deep Discount

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NYSE:CDN), the world's leading provider of electronic design products and services, today announced that all registered owners of the Orcad(R) Express(R) and Express Plus field-programmable gate array (FPGA) design solutions are eligible to receive a Synplicity, Inc., Synplify(R) synthesis engine from Cadence at no charge.

This same synthesis capability is included in the recently announced Cadence(R) FPGA Studio Series. For Express and Express Plus product users who need increased simulation capability, Cadence is offering tremendous discounts on the FPGA Studio Series Verilog(R)-XL and Affirma(TM) NC VHDL desktop simulators.

The Cadence offer means that now Orcad Express and Express Plus customers, on maintenance contracts, can easily upgrade their tools to include the best and latest simulation and synthesis solutions even for the most complex programmable logic design.

According to David Vornholt, AllianceEDA program manager with Xilinx, Inc., &uot;The FPGA Studio Series combines all the essential elements FPGA designers need for a complete development environment including schematic entry, and full synthesis and simulation capabilities.

&uot;For Xilinx's multimillion-gate Virtex-E family as well as our new low cost Spartan-II family, designers need the type of robust solution provided by Cadence and Synplicity(R) that incorporates powerful simulation and synthesis tools.&uot;

&uot;This offering is very important to Orcad Express product users

-- it gives them the best FPGA solution available on the market,&uot; said Troy Scott, product manager, HDL/FPGA/ Verification Solutions for the Cadence PCB Systems Division. &uot;With the Synplify synthesis tool-of-choice and the Cadence Affirma best-of-breed simulation technology, the FPGA designer gets leading-edge performance and high-quality results for a range of complex logic designs.&uot;

Mike Bosworth, senior vice president of Cadence Design Systems, head of the PCB Systems Division, and former CEO of OrCAD, Inc., stated, &uot;We want to make sure we take care of our Express product customers by making it easy and inexpensive for them to move up to the more powerful and comprehensive FPGA Studio Series. We also want to reassure those users who prefer to stay with our Express products that we are committed to offering them support.&uot;

Recent Supporting Announcements

On December 6, 1999, Cadence announced it had launched a new, low-cost Affirma NC VHDL desktop simulator (http://www.cadence.com/press_box/na/pr/1999/12_06_99.html), bringing the industry's most advanced VHDL simulation capability to the FPGA market.

On January 17, of this year, the PCB Systems Division announced the signing of two complementary OEM agreements with Synplicity, Inc. (http://www.cadence.com/press_box/na/pr/2000/01_17_00.html), to provide a robust synthesis and simulation environment to FPGA designers.

Today's announcement underlines the strategic commitment of the Cadence PCB Systems Division to the FPGA designer to provide top-of-the-line tools that meet even the most demanding FPGA designs.

Pricing and Availability

The PCB Systems Division FPGA Studio Series, priced at $15,000 (U.S. list), is available worldwide on Windows NT. Maintenance is available at an additional charge. The FPGA Studio Series is a powerful combination of schematic entry, HDL synthesis, and simulation products, and includes:

--   Schematic entry, through a choice of Orcad Capture(R) Release 9.1
     or Cadence Concept(R) HDL

--   HDL simulation, through Cadence Affirma NC VHDL Desktop or
     Verilog-XL Desktop

--   FPGA synthesis, through Synplicity's Synplify (node-locked,
     PC-based license only).

For more information on Cadence product pricing and availability call 800/671-9505. For pricing and availability outside of North America, contact your local Cadence office or distributor.

About Cadence

Cadence is the largest supplier of electronic design automation products, methodology services, and design services used to accelerate and manage the design of semiconductors, computer systems, networking and telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics, and a variety of other electronics-based products. The Cadence PCB Systems Division, the worldwide PCB EDA market leader, addresses the entire range of design needs in the PCB market, with complete tool suites available on Windows, Windows NT, and UNIX platforms.

With approximately 5,000 employees and 1999 annual sales of $1.1 billion, Cadence has sales offices, design centers, and research facilities located around the world. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CDN. More information about the company, its products and services may be obtained from the World Wide Web at http://www.cadence.com.

Note to Editors: Cadence, the Cadence logo, Concept, Verilog, Orcad, Express, and Capture are registered trademarks and Affirma is a trademark of Cadence Design Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.