Synopsys Users Groups to Meet in Munich, Germany and San Jose, California; Synopsys Users Gather to Exchange Ideas and Explore Solutions for Design Challenges.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SNUG Europe

SNUG San Jose 

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2003

Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS), the market and technology leader for integrated circuit (IC) design software, today announced two upcoming annual Synopsys Users Group (SNUG(R)) Conferences -- SNUG Europe, March 6-7, 2003 in Munich, Germany and SNUG San Jose, March 17-19, 2003 in California. SNUG is an open forum for Synopsys customers that provides them with the opportunity to attend technical sessions, brainstorm and discuss their tough design challenges with their peers.

Now in its twelfth year in Europe and its thirteenth year in San Jose, SNUG has established itself as the premier EDA users conference and has become an important event on many engineers' calendars. Consisting of customers and Synopsys product experts, the SNUG Technical Committee manages the program content to ensure that the information presented includes the topics that are most essential to users.

"SNUG is a highly technical conference where attendees can get updated, continuing education on Synopsys tools and ASIC design methodologies," said Don Mills, president, LCDM Engineering. "Keeping up on the latest technology is key for success in my career. I'm looking forward to this year's event to build on that knowledge base."

SNUG gives users a chance to meet with Synopsys executives, developers and application engineers, in addition to highlighting presentations from a variety of customers. This year's conference will cover a broad range of topics aimed at addressing challenges at every phase of the design cycle, from physical design and implementation to verification, crosstalk analysis, test, and a host of other technical issues. User presentations are complemented by in-depth tutorials from Synopsys product experts, which are intended to increase design productivity with Synopsys tools. The SNUG Authors Poster Session gives attendees the opportunity to connect one-on-one with SNUG presentation authors. As a result of Synopsys' acquisition of Avant! in 2002, this year's SNUG will also present topics that previously would have been covered at AURORA, Avant!'s former users group conference.

"I attended all the Avant! users group meetings and was AURORA president for the last three years. Now, AURORA has merged with SNUG, a single event that promises to deliver even more real-world knowledge that chip designers need for success," states John McGehee, former president, AURORA and CTO, Voom, Inc.

The 12th Annual SNUG Europe will meet in Munich, Germany at the International Congress Centre Munich (ICM), on March 6-7, 2003. In addition to an agenda of 39 user papers and 10 tutorials, SNUG Europe 2003 includes a special evening dinner event for customers.

SNUG San Jose 2003 will be held March 17-19, 2003 at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose, California. The agenda includes 40 user papers and 12 tutorials, along with two evenings of exhibits. The Partner Fair on Monday night demonstrates what Synopsys and its partners across the industry are doing to solve customers' design flow challenges. Synopsys R&D Night on Tuesday provides the opportunity to see product demos and meet with R&D teams. Mr. Mike Muller, chief technology officer, ARM(R), will be a special guest speaker on Tuesday afternoon when he presents The Design Challenge, his vision for the future of the EDA industry.

Aart de Geus, Synopsys CEO and chairman of the board, will deliver the keynote address at both SNUG conferences. In his keynote, he will update users on the state of the industry, the latest Synopsys technology, upcoming product directions, and anticipated methodology shifts.

Registration and conference details are available on the SNUG Web site: http://www.snug-universal.org.

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.

Note to Editors: Synopsys is a registered trademark of Synopsys, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.