Improv Systems Licenses AXYS Design's Maxsim Developer Suite for Virtual Prototyping of SOC Platforms based on the Configurable Jaxx DSP Core

May 28, 2002, BEVERLY, MA; PALO ALTO, CA. Improv Systems™, Inc. and AXYS® Design Automation, Inc. today announced that Improv has licensed AXYS Design's MaxSim™ Developer Suite for virtual prototyping and architecture exploration of SoC designs built around the configurable Jazz DSP™ (Digital Signal Processing) Processor platform. Improv will use the MaxSim Developer Suite to enable its customers to do system-level software development and simulation based on virtual prototypes.

Improv's Jazz DSP Processor is a configurable VLIW processor that incorporates many advanced architectural features including parallel datapaths, a distributed register system, code compression, and power management. It is supported by a flexible design methodology used to customize the computational resources and instruction set of the processor, while supporting a comprehensive tool chain.

Improv's Jazz DSP processor model and debugger will be integrated into MaxSim for easy deployment and combination with leading micro-controller (MCU) cores. Improv will use MaxSim to produce virtual prototyping boards that its licensees can use for evaluation and as software implementation platform. MaxSim's ultra-fast simulation engine enables simulation speeds in excess of 100kHz for cycle-accurate models and more than 1MHz for functional models, providing ample speed for effective embedded software development.

MaxSim SoC platform models can be exported from MaxSim to be used standalone for software development or integrated into hardware simulation or hardware/software co-simulation tools. Third-party debuggers can be easily attached to one or more target processors within the MaxSim models for full visibility of processor details and synchronous debug control.

Oz Levia, Chief Technical Officer of Improv Systems, said, "The MaxSim Developer Suite provides the right solution for our customers to test drive our flexible DSP platforms. MaxSim virtual prototypes effectively supplement the use of physical evaluation boards and enable early software development. Major advantages of this approach are electronic delivery, full visibility and the possibility to rapidly produce customer specific prototypes in large volumes."

"Improv is a leading provider of configurable DSP solutions with world-class licensees such as Philips Semiconductors and STMicroelectronics. We are extremely pleased that Improv chose MaxSim as development and delivery vehicle for their processor platforms," said Dr. Vojin Zivojnovic, president and CEO of AXYS Design.

Improv's Jazz DSP model will also be distributed by AXYS Design as a MaxLib™ library model. MaxLib™ is AXYS Design's library of models of popular SoC components. The models can be combined with a number of leading microcontroller cores including ARM®'s ARM7™ and ARM9™, Infineon's C166S-V2 and TriCore™, and embedded microprocessors based on MIPS Technologies' MIPS32™ and MIPS64™ architectures and cores.

About Improv Systems, Inc.
Improv Systems, Inc. develops and licenses the Jazz PSA™ platforms featuring the Jazz DSP and application solution kits for Voice-over-IP, Networking and Emerging Media. Improv's Jazz DSP is a configurable DSP that allows designers to create optimized DSP cores targeted to consumer electronics and telecommunications markets. Advanced software development tools, the Jazz PSA Composer™ DSP design environment, and Jazz PSA Rehearsal™ development boards support Improv's IP offerings. Improv Systems has development centers in Beverly, MA, San Jose, CA, and Rochester, NY, and direct sales offices in the United Kingdom and Tokyo. Improv can be reached at (978) 927-0555, info@improvsys.com or at http://www.improvsys.com.

Improv and designer-defined DSPs are registered trademarks or trademarks of Improv Systems, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

About AXYS Design Automation, Inc.
AXYS® Design Automation, Inc. is a provider of fast, accurate, and integrated processor and SoC (System-on-Chip) C/C++ modeling and simulation solutions for the development of high software content SoC devices. The use of AXYS Design's tool suites in the pre?silicon phase substantially shortens the SoC design cycle by enabling early system integration and embedded software development, thus reducing NRE cost and time to market.

AXYS Design's customers and partners are companies involved in cutting edge technologies for the electronics industry and include Adelante Technologies, ARC (LSE:ARK), ARM Ltd. (NASDAQ: ARMHY), Conexant Systems (NASDAQ: CNXT), DSP Group (NASDAQ: DSPG), Improv Systems, Infineon Technologies (NYSE: IFX), LSI Logic (NYSE: LSI), Mentor Graphics (NASDAQ: MENT), MIPS Technologies (NASDAQ: MIPS) and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM).

The MaxSim™ Developer Suite is a tool enabling the modeling and verification of multi-core SoC designs. The MaxCore™ Developer Suite is a toolset for the automatic generation of processor models and software development tools. MaxLib™ is AXYS Design's growing library of models for popular SoC components. For more information, visit the AXYS Design web site at http://www.AXYSdesign.com.

AXYS is a registered trademark of AXYS Design Automation, Inc. MaxSim, MaxCore and MaxLib are trademarks of AXYS Design Automation, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owner.