China Integrated Design Center Selects Synopsys As Its Primary EDA Provider; Synopsys' Tools and Flows Instrumental in MPEG2 Tapeout.

Business/Technology Editors

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 22, 2000

China Integrated Design Center (CIDC), the largest design center in China, has selected Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS) as the primary solution provider in EDA tools and design services. CIDC, established in 1986, is China's key high-technology enterprise focused on the development of electronic design automation (EDA) technology and IC products. CIDC is part of the 909 Design Project; a government push to further develop the semiconductor industry in the country.

Over the years, CIDC has adopted Synopsys tools and methodologies for its main IC design flow. These products and methodologies include VSS(TM), VCS(TM), DC Expert(TM), DesignWare(TM), Primetime(TM), TetraMax(TM), Powermill(TM) and MemPro(TM). This design flow was pivotal in CIDC's recent success in taping out the first MPEG2 core design in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The MPEG2 chip is key to CIDC's strategy for being the core technology vendor for China's digital audio and video products. The partnership between the two companies has been further strengthened by the adoption of Synopsys RTL-to-GDSII flow and design service in this CIDC MPEG2 design, which is also the first successful design service of significant scale delivered by an EDA vendor in the PRC.

"We were under a tremendous amount of time-to-market pressure to get our MPEG2 core prototyped and were facing challenges such as design- for-test (DFT), timing closure and verification," said Professor Qin-Sheng Wang, president and chairman of CIDC. "Synopsys' extensive EDA expertise helped us develop a flow and methodology that would guarantee us working silicon of the core in the time frame that we needed. We are extremely pleased with the technology Synopsys provided, as well as the quality and responsiveness of Synopsys' Professional Services."

"Our close partnership with CIDC enabled us to deliver a complete solution that CIDC needed," said Dr. Chi-Foon Chan, president and chief operating officer at Synopsys. "We are excited about our future relationship with CIDC and are looking forward to continuing to create and offer solutions that help their designers. China is a dynamic market with many exciting opportunities. We are fully committed to this market and will do our best to help the start-ups and fast growing design houses in China."

As CIDC transitions from a State-owned and government-planned entity to a market-driven design company, innovation, productivity and time-to-market are becoming very important to meet market demands. "CIDC will be focusing on the IC card and digital audio/video design industry" said Professor Qin-Sheng Wang, "and we look forward to working with Synopsys on these future projects."

About Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS), headquartered in Mountain View, California, creates leading electronic design automation (EDA) tools for the global electronics market. The company delivers advanced design technologies and solutions to developers of complex integrated circuits, electronic systems and systems on a chip. Synopsys also provides consulting and support services to simplify the overall IC design process and accelerate time to market for its customers. Visit Synopsys at http://www.synopsys.com.

Synopsys, VSS, VCS, DC Expert, DesignWare, PrimeTime, TetraMax, Powermill, and MemPro are registered trademarks of Synopsys, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.