ChipStart Forges Value-Added Relationship with Market Leader LogicVision

New Sales, Marketing and Support Channel Creates Logical Benefits for SoC Designers with Release of TestStart

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Dec 15, 2008 -- ChipStart LLC, a semiconductor intellectual property distribution company, announced today it has entered into a value-added reselling agreement with LogicVision, Inc. . Under this agreement, ChipStart will offer LogicVision's ETCreate series Built-In Self-Test (BIST) and Built-In Self-Repair (BISR) software and IP products integrated into the new TestStart embedded memory system.

As the semiconductor industry moves to deeper nanoscale manufacturing nodes, there has been significant growth in the number, density and performance requirements of embedded memories. As a result, embedded memories are becoming the largest contributor to yield loss. To reverse the growing yield-loss trend, chip designers must now include highly-optimized memories, which also contain capabilities for repairing the memories after manufacturing. A key to repairing memories is a return to acceptable yields without impacting test times or crucial time-to-market goals.

"The TestStart System introduces the essential repair methodologies that meet the demands for a high yielding system-on-chip (SoC), while saving the customer literally millions of dollars from repairing otherwise defective integrated circuits," said Howard Pakosh, president and chief executive officer at ChipStart LLC. "We are excited by the opportunities our relationship with both LogicVision and memory IP vendors will create for our customers."

"We are seeing a growing demand for integrated high-yield embedded memory solutions," said Jim Healy, president and CEO of LogicVision. "Our partnership with ChipStart will ensure our customers receive the support they need to meet their aggressive design schedule and memory performance goals."

The TestStart Architecture

The integrated LogicVision based memory solution offers chip designers a broad range of highly-optimized memory blocks, including the industry's highest performance, highest density and lowest power memories. These memories have been proven in hundreds of designs across several silicon process generations down to 40nm. The solution also provides unique automation for efficiently integrating and verifying embedded memory test and repair capabilities within even the most complex designs. Once integrated, these capabilities provide the highest quality test through the industry's only BIST architecture for full algorithm programmability, as well as the highest possible yield improvement through fully-optimized on-chip repair analysis and eFuse management. The integrated solution also provides very powerful automated diagnostic capabilities that allow crucial first silicon characterization as well as quick identification of any systematic process-related effects.

The LogicVision based solution is now available through ChipStart.

About ChipStart

ChipStart is a semiconductor intellectual property solution company based in Palo Alto, California. ChipStart provides sales, marketing and support engagement solutions for companies that commerce third party semiconductor intellectual property. As the use of merchant market SIP continues to become a more popular choice for developing semiconductor devices, the need is also rising for more consistent delivery and support of the SIP to the semiconductor companies. Until this new industry standard engagement model, this has been difficult to achieve market wide, because many SIP vendors employ ad hoc methods of sales and marketing. For more information, see www.chip-start.com

About LogicVision Inc.

LogicVision  provides proprietary technologies for achieving the highest quality silicon manufacturing test while reducing test costs for complex System-on-Chip devices. LogicVision's Dragonfly Test Platform(TM) enables integrated circuit designers to embed test functionality into a semiconductor design that is used during semiconductor production test and throughout the useful life of the chip. Dragonfly Test Platform, with ETCreate(TM), Silicon Insight(TM) and Yield Insight(TM) product families, improves profit margins by reducing device field returns and test costs, accelerating silicon bring-up times and shortening both time-to-market and time-to-yield. For more information on the company and its products, please visit the LogicVision website at www.logicvision.com