Exar Selects Synopsys as Its Leading EDA Partner

Breadth and Quality of Product Portfolio Key Drivers of Broadened Agreement

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS), a world leader in software and IP for semiconductor design, verification and manufacturing, today announced that Exar Corporation (NASDAQ: EXAR), a leading provider of analog and mixed-signal solutions for connectivity and power management, has signed an expanded business agreement to establish Synopsys as its leading EDA partner. As a result of the new multi-year agreement, the Synopsys' Galaxy(TM) Implementation and Discovery(TM) Verification platforms will be Exar's key design environment for designs at 65-nanometers (nm) and below.

"We conducted an extensive evaluation process to select an EDA partner to not only support our current project needs, but our future design horizon as well, and Synopsys was the clear choice," said George Apostol, senior vice president and CTO, Exar Corporation. "Over the years, Synopsys has demonstrated the technology leadership and outstanding technical support that is vital to helping us deliver highly differentiated silicon solutions to our customers. Synopsys tools, especially for mixed-signal designs, are ideal for our forthcoming data communications, storage, interface and power management products."

With the most recent agreement, Exar has chosen products that span Synopsys' broad portfolio. These products include Synopsys' Galaxy implementation platform featuring IC Compiler place-and-route technology, Design Compiler(R) Graphical synthesis, PrimeTime(R) PX timing and power analysis, PrimeRail power network analysis, Star-RCXT(TM) parasitic extraction, Hercules(TM) physical verification, TetraMAX(R) automatic test pattern generation, and DFT MAX adaptive scan compression; Synopsys' Discovery verification platform featuring the VCS(R), HSPICE(R), HSPICE RF and CustomSim(TM) simulators for analog and digital verification, MVRC static voltage-aware verification, and MVSIM voltage-aware simulation; and DesignWare(R) Library IP.

"Companies like Exar succeed through their ability to create highly differentiated designs and are justifiably selective when it comes to the partners with whom they entrust their design flows," said John Chilton, senior vice president of Marketing and Strategic Development at Synopsys. "Synopsys welcomes the opportunity for a long-term partnership with Exar, and we look forward to helping them further distinguish their products through technical innovation and rapid market introduction."

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, software-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/.

About Exar

Exar Corporation delivers highly differentiated silicon, software and subsystem solutions for industrial, datacom and storage applications. For nearly 40 years, Exar's comprehensive knowledge of end-user markets along with the underlying analog, mixed signal and digital technology has enabled innovative solutions that meet the needs of the evolving connected world. Exar's product portfolio includes power management and interface components, communications products, storage optimization solutions, network security and applied service processors. Exar has locations worldwide providing real-time customer support to drive rapid product development. For more information about Exar, visit: http://www.exar.com.

Synopsys, Design Compiler, DesignWare, Discovery, CustomSim, Galaxy, Hercules, HSPICE, PrimeTime, Star-RCXT, TetraMAX and VCS are registered trademarks or 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/
http://www.exar.com/