Agreement Includes Collaboration for Development of Custom IC Solutions

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS), a world leader in software and IP for semiconductor design and manufacturing, today announced that National Semiconductor Corp has selected Synopsys as their key EDA partner for use in product development. The expanded relationship provides National access to Synopsys' Analog/Mixed-Signal and custom IC design tools and the opportunity to collaborate in next generation solutions.

As part of the agreement, National has chosen products across Synopsys' product portfolio, including Synopsys' Galaxy(TM) design platform featuring IC Compiler place-and-route technology, Design Compiler(R) synthesis, PrimeTime(R) timing analysis, Star-RCXT(TM) parasitic extraction, Hercules(TM) physical verification, DFT MAX scan compression synthesis and TetraMAX(R) automatic test pattern generation; Synopsys' Discovery(TM) verification platform featuring the VCS(R) and HSIM(TM) simulators for analog and digital verification; and the Taurus(TM) Medici and Sentaurus device simulators from Synopsys' TCAD portfolio.

"Today's analog and mixed-signal products increasingly require more complex EDA solutions," said James Lin, vice president of Technology Infrastructure at National Semiconductor. "In choosing Synopsys as a key EDA partner we have the opportunity to work together in solving our current and future design needs."

"National and Synopsys have a number of common goals, including helping create more power-efficient products that can still deliver the numerous capabilities users demand," said Aart de Geus, chairman and CEO of Synopsys. "We are fortunate to have an opportunity to collaborate with an acknowledged leader in mixed-signal design as we work to develop the next generation of custom IC solutions."

About Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS) is a world leader in electronic design automation (EDA), supplying the global electronics market with the software, intellectual property (IP) and services used in semiconductor design and manufacturing. Synopsys' comprehensive, integrated portfolio of implementation, verification, IP, manufacturing and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) solutions helps address the key challenges designers and manufacturers face today, such as power and yield management, system-to- silicon verification and time-to-results. These technology-leading solutions help give Synopsys customers a competitive edge in bringing the best products to market quickly while reducing costs and schedule risk. Synopsys is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has more than 60 offices located throughout North America, Europe, Japan, Asia and India. Visit Synopsys online at http://www.synopsys.com/.

Synopsys, Design Compiler, Discovery, Galaxy, Hercules, HSIM, PrimeTime, Star-RCXT, Taurus, TetraMAX and VCS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Synopsys, Inc. Any other trademarks or registered trademarks mentioned in this release are the intellectual property of their respective owners.

     Editorial Contact:
     Yvette Huygen
     Synopsys, Inc.
     650-584-4547
     yvetteh@synopsys.com

     Investor Contact:
     Lisa Ewbank
     Synopsys, Inc.
     650-584-1901

Web site: http://www.synopsys.com/