Qualis and Dolphin to provide joint functional verification solutions

Grenoble, France, July 23rd, 2001 - QUALIS Europe and DOLPHIN Integration of Meylan, France, are announcing they are partnering to create a powerful new offering in Functional Verification of Systems-on-Chip (SoC) in the Grenoble area. Combining the Functional Verification methodology expertise of QUALIS, well- known for its consulting and training services, with the IP experience and right- on-first-pass design record of DOLPHIN, the companies exploit their physical proximity to attack substantial verification problems. This has already resulted in winning a deal for a large consulting project for a multinational customer and joint development of Verification Components is on the roadmap. A 10 MBit Lan-to-Lan link allows QUALIS and DOLPHIN to share a customer-dedicated network, thus providing data security and ensuring that the verification team is efficiently integrated.

Critical mass to provide Functional Verification Solutions With chip size and complexity still growing exponentially, the true limiting factor in rapidly introducing new products to market is verification. Functional Verification, which traditionally occupied only a small part of the Gantt chart, has not only become exceptionally time-consuming, it is now also a crucial and distinct discipline. A critical mass of engineers capable of implementing a high-quality, systematic, repeatable verification flow is a rare asset, allowing QUALIS and DOLPHIN to take on substantial Functional Verification projects, from specification through to full verification regression. QUALIS and DOLPHIN agree that verification must be done by specialists, and can no longer be reliably performed by engineers also responsible for a product's design. Companies therefore face a choice of either building up dedicated internal verification groups, or to assign the work to a trusted third party. Trust, of course, is the name of the game. Once established, a third party verification solution offers the substantial additional advantage over internal groups of verification objectivity. It then makes sense for companies to concentrate on the parts of the design process where they may add most value - typically in the specification, system design or implementation areas - and to delegate complete and substantial functional verification activities.

Verification Components Verification Components are becoming as important as Design Components (pre- designed and verified circuit modules) in meeting time-to-market constraints. It not only gives verification engineers a productivity boost by allowing them to build up sophisticated testbenches from pre-existing components, it also provides an invaluable third-party reference and ensures that the verification effort remains objective. Checking your communication SoC in conjunction with an externally supplied ATM verification component gives more confidence than a check using a home-grown model of the same. QUALIS started producing Verification Components several years ago, originally using VHDL and Verilog, and reuses this heritage in many consulting engagements. However, recently a big industry switch to the use of Hardware Verification Languages such as 'e' has readied the market for true Verification Component products, and the partnership is set to exploit this trend. QUALIS already markets a number of eVCs(TM) (Verification Components written in Verisity's 'e' verification language) and DOLPHIN has a vast experience in the tricky business of supplying and supporting design IP.

A collaboration greater than the sum of the parts VERISITY Design (NASDAQ: VRST), who offers "Specman Elite(TM)" as a comprehensive environment for functional verification of complex integrated circuits, is also supporting and closely cooperating with this partnership. QUALIS is a founding member in VERISITY's Verification Alliance(TM) Partnership program and DOLPHIN has now joined the Verification Alliance. DOLPHIN now brings expertise in multi-level simulation with mixed signal emphasis, such as VHDL-AMS in its electronic simulator SMASH®.

Coby Hanoch, vice president and general manager of European Operations for Verisity commented : "We are really pleased to see Dolphin join the Verification Alliance program, particularly with their close association with QUALIS. The Verification Alliance program is instrumental in providing customers with advanced verification technology and engineering expertise, and provides new business opportunities for our partners ".

Michel Depeyrot, CEO of the DOLPHIN Group, remarked that "DOLPHIN has always had a strict policy of quality above haste, and this has naturally led us into the verification arena. It is clear that we are very close to QUALIS in terms of business philosophy, and I am excited about the new alliance. Functional verification is a new area of expertise for DOLPHIN, and it is an excellent complement to our established services in physical and timing verification".

Andrew Betts, General Manager and Principal Engineer of QUALIS Europe, commented "Working with DOLPHIN gives us the critical mass to deal with really interesting verification problems. We have an excellent working relationship with these guys and our areas of expertise complement each other extremely well. Also, in this age of remote working, the short, high- bandwidth connection between our offices is a real luxury, and allows a level of communication and coordination that you often cannot find inside individual companies."

About QUALIS Europe QUALIS Europe is a fully-owned subsidiary of QUALIS Design Corporation, an electronic system design consulting firm focused on making high- technology clients more competitive by helping them accelerate, and stay ahead, in the design and evolution of advanced technology products. A leader in the development of tool independent methodologies for system-level design and verification, QUALIS leverages its methodology foundation to deliver design process re-engineering, best-practices methodology training, and design and verification services. Working with clients in long-term partnerships, QUALIS builds sustainable competitive advantage in product design by keeping them on the leading edge of methodology and tools. To learn more about QUALIS, visit www.qualis.com.

About DOLPHIN Integration DOLPHIN Integration, the original provider of "Service Empowered IP" for Logic, Analog and Memory Virtual Components, offers a wide range of design services and support; from turnkey design to consulting support for customers wanting efficient insertion of mixed signal FLIP(TM) cores from kits into their SoC design. DOLPHIN is a member of the Virtual Socket Interface Alliance (VSIA) and of the Virtual Component exchange (VCX). Their mission statement is to supply worldwide customers with fault-free, high yield and reliable sets of CMOS Virtual Components together with engineering assistance and product evolution customized to their needs. For additional information you can find DOLPHIN at www.dolphin-ip.com or address your inquiries to flip@dolphin.fr.

Flip and Smash® are registered trademarks of DOLPHIN Integration SA. e.Specman is a registered trademark of VERISITY Design.

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