Chip Design Magazine Receives Industry Support from EDA Consortium, FSA, OCP-IP, Si2, and VSIA.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 18, 2003

High-tech publisher Extension Media today announced that five semiconductor-industry associations have placed unprecedented support behind Chip Design magazine, a print and online resource for design engineers and engineering managers developing advanced semiconductor designs. The magazine will launch in September 2003.

EDA Consortium, Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA), OCP International Partnership (OCP-IP), Silicon Integration Initiative (Si2), and VSI Alliance (VSIA) have all become affiliate sponsors of the publication. "We believe the design industry needs a dedicated voice," said Vince Ridley, publisher of Chip Design. "We have been overwhelmed by the cooperation we've received from these significant members of the design community, who also believe that peer-to-peer exchange is vital to the health of our industry."

The logo of each supporting association will appear on the cover of Chip Design. Affiliate sponsors will assist in marketing and distribution of the publication, and serve as an editorial resource on technology trends and issues. In addition, members of the sponsoring associations will receive exclusive advertising discounts.

Sponsor Comments

"Design engineers -- our customers -- are the foundation of the technology economy," said Jacques Benkoski, vice chairman of EDAC and the board sponsor of its communications committee. "We believe Chip Design will provide a useful service for the design community, and we support it."

"As the leading voice and business enabler of the fabless industry, the FSA continues to broaden our efforts in the area of design efficiency and productivity," said Jodi Shelton, FSA Executive Director. "Our collaboration with Chip Design further supports these efforts, giving us an excellent avenue to communicate with design engineers and managers."

"As an industry consortium, it is key that we reach a broad audience with the latest news on the OCP standard," stated Ian Mackintosh, president of OCP-IP. "Chip Design is an effective way to reach top design engineers to deliver the latest information."

"The job of silicon designers has never been more complex, with a need to understand emerging flows and methodologies from experts who understand the issues," said Steven E. Schulz, president and CEO for Silicon Integration Initiative. "Chip Design promises to fulfill this genuine need, leveraging a seasoned staff of industry veterans in a partnership with the IC design community. Si2 is pleased to be a co-sponsor of Chip Design and anticipates broad support from across the industry."

"We believe Chip Design is another very positive sign of industry growth," said Michael Kaskowitz, president of VSIA. "We are supporting their efforts to shed light on issues that affect VSIA's industry-critical mission to provide open standards for SoC development and design reuse."

About Chip Design

Each issue of Chip Design will address the information needs of leading-edge, upper-mainstream, and system-level programmable logic IC designers with in-depth articles on such subjects as verification, tool interoperability, power control and reduction, design for verification, design for manufacturing, changes in design languages, and the need for higher levels of abstraction in system design. Chip Design is edited by industry veteran Tets Maniwa. The magazine will publish bi-monthly and be available on the Extension Media Web site. Learn more at http://www.chipdesignmag.com.

About Extension Media

Extension Media is a publisher of business-to-business magazines, catalogs, and Web sites that address high-technology industry platforms and emerging technologies, such as embedded systems, chip design, intellectual property, IT software and infrastructure, wireless communications, system architecture, and operating systems. Extension Media also provides high-technology companies with targeted media offerings and custom marketing communication services that build market share and improve customer retention, loyalty, and value. Extension Media is headquartered at 1786 18th Street, San Francisco, California 94107, telephone [phone], fax [phone]. For more information, please visit http://www.extensionmedia.com.

About the EDA Consortium

"Where Electronics Begins"(TM) best describes the Electronics Design Automation Industry. The EDA Consortium represents this vital industry on a worldwide scale. It is the international association of companies developing design tools and services that enable engineers to create the world's electronic products. The EDA Industry provides the critical technology to design electronics that enable the Information Age, including: communications, computers, space technology, medical and industrial equipment and consumer electronics. As stated recently by the Nobel Prize Committee, "The integrated circuit is the basis for all modern technology." EDA Consortium is located at 111 West Saint John Street, Suite 220, San Jose, California 95113-1104, phone: [phone], fax: [phone], email: [e-mail]. For more information, please visit www.edac.org.

About the Fabless Semiconductor Association

In 1994, industry leaders incorporated the FSA on the premise that the fabless business model would be a viable, long-term business model. Today the viability of outsourcing as a sustainable business model for the industry has been proven. The organization encourages the relationship between semiconductor companies and suppliers; facilitates business partnerships; creates awareness of the fabless/outsourced business model; disseminates industry data; and fosters standards and policies. The FSA's vision is that by 2010 half of all integrated circuit revenue will come from fabless/outsourced operations. The Fabless Semiconductor Association is located at Three Lincoln Center, 5430 LBJ Freeway, Suite 280, Dallas, Texas 75240, phone: [phone], fax: [phone]. For more information, please visit www.fsa.org.

About OCP-IP

The OCP International Partnership Association, Inc. (OCP-IP) was announced in December 2001 to promote and support the open core protocol (OCP) as the complete socket standard that ensures rapid creation and integration of interoperable virtual components. OCP-IP's Governing Steering Committee participants are: Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), ST Microelectronics (NYSE: STM), United Microelectronics Corporation (NYSE: UMC), Sonics, and other industry leading companies. OCP-IP is a non-profit corporation delivering the first fully supported, openly licensed core-centric protocol that comprehensively fulfills system-level integration requirements. The OCP facilitates IP core reusability and reduces design time and risk, along with manufacturing costs for SOC designs. OCP-IP is located at 5440 SW Westgate Drive, Suite 217, Portland, Oregon 97221, phone: [phone], fax: [phone], email: [e-mail]. For more information, please visit www.ocpip.org.

About Si2

Si2, a not-for-profit organization, provides engineering consultation and services to leading silicon, electronic systems and EDA companies. Our members are championing API-level integration that will enable design reuse, EDA tool choice and increased productivity. Si2's approach is based on the transfer of proven technology to industry standards and enabled by the demonstrated success of the open source methodology. Si2 represents members throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Si2 is located at 12521 Amherst Drive, Suite 200, Austin, Texas 78727-4011, phone: [phone], fax: [phone]. For more information, please visit http://www.si2.org.

About VSIA

The VSI Alliance (VSIA) is an open, international organization dedicated to improving the productivity of System-on-Chip (SoC) development by specifying open standards and specifications that facilitate the integration of software and hardware Intellectual Property (IP) from multiple sources and by identifying and providing solutions to the business barriers that inhibit adoption of standards. The VSIA membership includes representatives from all segments of the SoC industry: System houses, Semiconductor vendors, Electronic Design Automation (EDA) companies, and Intellectual Property (IP) providers. Many companies have adopted the use of VSIA specifications, standards and documents. VSIA has wide industry participation with more than 100 member companies from around the world. Membership is open to any company with an interest in the development and promotion of open standards used in the design of SoC. For more information, visit the VSIA web site at www.vsi.org, or e-mail to [e-mail].