DesignAdvance Joins Mentor Graphics OpenDoor Program; CircuitSpace Seamlessly Integrates With Mentor Graphics' PCB Design Tools.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- DesignAdvance(TM) Systems, Inc., electronic design automation (EDA) and computer aided design (CAD) design-synthesis software developer is now a member of the Mentor Graphics Corporation's OpenDoor(TM) program.

Mentor Graphics' OpenDoor program is the industry's leading and longest standing program supporting the development of integrated world class solutions. OpenDoor provides access to a diverse number of partner companies that offer well integrated, leading edge software solutions that complement the Mentor Graphics suite of tools in all aspects of the design process. Over 95 OpenDoor partner companies have agreed to develop and maintain commercial integrations, expanding the choices available to Mentor Graphics users in all design processes: hundreds of EDA products now interoperate with Mentor Graphics tools for ESDA, Top Down Design, PCB Layout and IC Design.

"We are pleased to welcome DesignAdvance into the OpenDoor program to provide designers, using our PCB design tools, an integrated solution that assists them in the component placement process," said Charles Pfeil, Product Marketing Director of Mentor Graphics.

"The OpenDoor partner program assures our customers that CircuitSpace will seamlessly integrate into their current Mentor design cycle. Working with industry leaders like Mentor, DesignAdvance will deliver world class placement solutions that drastically reduce PCB design time," said Randy Eager, CEO and co-founder of DesignAdvance.

CircuitSpace brings user-assisted automation to the current manual process of component placement on a PCB reducing design time and pushing products to market sooner at reduced costs. DesignAdvance has exclusively licensed two patented platform technologies, including five patents, developed over the past 11 years at Carnegie Mellon University. With CircuitSpace, the designers specify and/or import relevant constraints, DRCs, and ERCs. Sophisticated algorithms then process the data, creating and solving an optimization problem whose result is a board with components placed according to the design constraints, faster time-to-market and reduced costs.

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of over $700 million and employs approximately 3,850 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com.

About DesignAdvance Systems, Inc.

DesignAdvance, previously known as Desantage, develops automated computer aided design (CAD) and electronic design automation (EDA) design-synthesis software tools that drastically reduce the amount of time it takes engineers and designers to design products. DesignAdvance exclusively licensed two patented platform technologies, including five patents, developed over the past 11 years at Carnegie Mellon University. For more information visit www.designadvance.com.

CircuitSpace, Desantage, and DesignAdvance are trademarks of DesignAdvance. All other trademarks and registered trademarks in this document are the properties of their respective owners.