Toshiba Adopts Magma’s tools to Improve Time to Market

July 26, 2007 (PRLEAP.COM) Technology News
Bangalore, July 26, 2007 – Magma Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq: LAVA), a provider of chip design software, today announced that Toshiba Corporation, the world's largest supplier of semiconductors for consumer electronics, adopted Magma’s FineSimTM Pro and FineSim SPICE circuit simulation products. Toshiba’s semiconductor group is using FineSim Pro and FineSim SPICE on its most aggressive designs to achieve superior performance and accuracy.

FineSim Pro and FineSim SPICE, both based on Magma’s proprietary Native Parallel Technology, are the only circuit simulators that use a single-engine simulator with multi-mode simulation capabilities to support digital, analog, and mixed-signal applications. This single-engine capability allows designers to easily identify mixed-signal issues that are often missed by traditional multiple-simulator or simulation-backplane schemes.

“Toshiba has adopted multiple circuit simulation solutions for various design applications. FineSim Pro and FineSim SPICE are the only single-engine-based solutions that can be easily applied to our digital, analog, mixed-signal and memory requirements,” said Tamotsu Hiwatashi, senior manager of planning department, System LSI Design Department, System LSI Division of Toshiba. “By applying FineSim’s proprietary Native Parallel Technology™, our designers can easily reduce simulation time by applying our advanced multiple-machine, multiple-CPU verification environment. FineSim has delivered a real commercial benefit to Toshiba by significantly improving our product’s time-to-market design cycle.”

“FineSim Pro and FineSim SPICE make circuit simulation a competitive advantage for Magma customers, something that most people in our industry would never have thought possible,” said Suk Lee, general manager of Magma’s Custom Design Business Unit. “Semiconductor leaders such as Toshiba, who are pushing chip technology very aggressively, look for any advantage possible that gets their products to market sooner. The ability to simulate advanced circuits and have confidence in the final design gives them that additional competitive edge.”

About FineSim SPICE and FineSim Pro

FineSim SPICE is a SPICE-level simulation analysis tool that incorporates transistor-level simulation analysis capabilities for mixed digital and analog designs. It contains a full SPICE simulation engine with distributed processing that enables designers to simulate large-scale mixed-signal system chips at the transistor level. By providing increased speed and capacity while maintaining full SPICE accuracy, FineSim SPICE enables simulation of advanced circuits – such as PLLs, ADCs (analog-to-digital converters), DACs (digital-to-analog converters) and gigahertz SERDES (SERializer/DESerializer) – that previously would not even be attempted using slower traditional SPICE simulators.

FineSim Pro is a simulation analysis tool that incorporates transistor-level simulation analysis capabilities for full-chip mixed digital and analog designs. FineSim Pro contains a tri-mode simulation engine – offering a choice among SPICE, analog and turbo-SPICE modes – with distributed processing that enables simulation of entire mixed-signal system chips at the transistor level.

About Magma

Magma’s software for designing integrated circuits (ICs) is used to create complex, high-performance chips required in cellular telephones, electronic games, WiFi, MP3 players, DVD/digital video, networking, automotive electronics and other electronic applications. Magma’s EDA software for IC implementation, analysis, physical verification, circuit simulation and characterization is recognized as embodying the best in semiconductor technology, enabling the world's top chip companies to “Design Ahead of the Curve”™ while reducing design time and costs. Magma is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., with offices around the world. Magma's stock trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA. Visit Magma Design Automation on the Web at www.magma-da.com.

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Magma is a registered trademark, and FineSim, “Design Ahead of the Curve” and Native Parallel Technology are trademarks of Magma Design Automation Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including statements about the performance of Magma software and Toshiba’s use of Magma’s software, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including, but not limited to, Toshiba’s decision to continue using Magma’s software; both companies’ abilities to keep pace with rapidly changing technology; and their products’ abilities to produce desired results. Further discussion of these and other potential risk factors may be found in Magma's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov). Magma undertakes no additional obligation to update these forward-looking statements.