Mentor Graphics and Altera Deliver Development Suite for Rapid SOPC Solutions

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 31, 2001--Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT - news) today announced the addition of Altera Corporation (Nasdaq:ALTR - news) as the seventh member of its Embedded Technology Adoption Program (ETAP).

As an ETAP member, Altera now provides embedded designers with access to an enhanced version of the Mentor Graphics® XRAY® Debugger, the leading software debugger for system developers.

Altera's Excalibur(TM) ARM®-based embedded processor environment offers maximum flexibility for the integration of system-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) solutions. To maximize the benefits of the Excalibur embedded processor solutions, Altera provides its customers with a comprehensive set of design tools, including simulators, synthesis engines and co-verification models. The addition of XRAY to the design flow delivers a complete front-to-back design methodology for customers using the Excalibur embedded processor solutions.

"The size and complexity of our Excalibur embedded processor solutions require debug tools that were traditionally offered only in the ASIC or microprocessor world," said Tim Southgate, vice president of software and tools marketing at Altera. "Now that Altera is an ETAP member, our customers have access to leading debugging tools for use in developing system-on-a-programmable-chip designs."

Mentor Graphics Joins Altera Partner Program

As a founding member of the newly created Excalibur Partner Program, Mentor's Embedded Software Division and Altera have further extended the relationship of the two companies. The Excalibur Partner Program provides a trusted source of development tools for system development and system solutions.

"The collaboration of Mentor Graphics and Altera through the Embedded Technology Adoption Program and the Excalibur Partner Program reinforces our mutual goals of providing robust embedded software solutions for PLDs," said Michael Kaskowitz, vice president and general manager of Mentor's Embedded Software Division. "The end result of the agreements is that SOPC designers have access to an accelerated development solution that allows designers to remain competitive in the fast-paced, time-to-market driven semiconductor industry."

Delivering on a SOPC Roadmap

Mentor Graphics and Altera continue to execute on a roadmap to deliver a complete "front-to-back" design methodology for customers using Altera's Excalibur embedded processor solutions. A fully functioning, time limited version of XRAY will be included in the Excalibur Development Kit. XRAY will support both the ARM ADS and GNU compiler tool chains using a JTAG interface for communication to the Excalibur environment. In addition to working closely with the Embedded Software Division, Altera already offers Mentor's Seamless® hardware/software co-verification tool and a selection of 20 Inventra Intellectual Property cores. Altera also has ongoing OEM agreements in place with Mentor Graphics for its LeonardoSpectrum(TM) synthesis and ModelSim® simulation tools. These tools are integrated into Altera's Quartus® II and MAX+Plus® II development environments. The complete design solution will add tools for physical synthesis, C-based high-level design and board-level signal integrity.

About the Embedded Technology Adoption Program (ETAP)

Altera joins ARM Ltd., Philips Semiconductors, OSE Systems, Siroyan Ltd, Tensilica and Virtio as the newest announced member to the ETAP. Launched in June 2001, ETAP provides semiconductor and intellectual property (IP) vendors with access to market-leading embedded software technology, including its XRAY Debugger, VRTX® RTOS and Microtec® Compilers. Companies can license the technologies and build customized development environments tailored for their applications, without incurring the resource expense of tackling the development task with an internal tools team. For more information on the Mentor Graphics Embedded Technology Adoption Program, please visit www.mentor.com/etap.

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT - news) 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 more than $600 million and employs approximately 3,000 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: www.mentor.com.

Mentor Graphics, VRTX, Microtec, Seamless, ModelSim and XRAY are registered trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. LeonardoSpectrum is a trademark of Mentor Graphics Corporation. Calibre and xCalibre are also registered trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.

Contact:
     Mentor Graphics Corporation
     Stephanie van Blommestein, 408/487-7392
     stephanie_vanblommestein@mentor.com
     or
     Benjamin Group
     Jason Khoury, 415/352-2628 ext. 172
     jason_khoury@benjamingroup.com