Artisan Components' IP Tagging Methodology Championed By UMC

SUNNYVALE, Calif.----Aug. 11, 2000--Artisan Components, Inc. , a leading supplier of physical libraries, today announced that the company's IP tagging methodology, Artiscan(TM), has been adopted by Virtual Socket Interface Alliance (VSIA). Introduced on June 19, 2000 by VSIA as an industry standard, the Virtual Component Identification Physical Tagging Standard (VCID) provides an automated method of identifying and tracking use of IP through the semiconductor fabrication process.

Artisan was invited to present its tagging methodology, which was championed by world-leading semiconductor foundry UMC in the early stages of adoption, to the VSIA. Based on input from other VSIA members, Artisan provided the Artiscan definition as well as C-based tagging and reporting software to VSIA and extended the standard to allow any vendor to tag their GDSII files.

The final version of the standard and example software was verified through a pilot program supported by Artisan Components, UMC, ARM and Mentor Graphics Corporation. Primary credit goes to John Malecki, vice president of software development at Artisan Components and Ian Mackintosh, chair of VSIA's Intellectual Property Protection Development Working Group who spearheaded the drafting and pilot work in creation of this standard.

Advanced process technologies continue to provide ever faster IC performance and higher capacity that gives designers the ability to put more electronic functions and components on ICs,`` said Dr. Jim Ballingall, vice president of worldwide marketing at UMC. ''To keep up with this proliferation, UMC realized that an industry wide tracking mechanism was critical, and Artiscan delivered the exact solution. We are proud to have played a major part in the initiation of this vital VSIA standard.``

Artisan is very excited about VSIA accepting our IP tagging concept, and we truly appreciate UMC's efforts in driving this adoption,`` said Mark Templeton, president and chief executive officer at Artisan Components. ''We believe that the benefit to our customer base of over 700 companies and the industry at large is substantial.``

About Virtual Component Identification Physical Tagging Standard (VCID)

The VCID is based on Artisan Components' Artiscan, a specification for encoding IP description and tracking information in a GDSII based layout file. The IP tagging information is encoded into text records using a syntax that is fully described in the Standard. Using publicly available software, manufacturers can process GDSII files and generate a report that identifies, describes and reports all of the third party IP tagged in a design. This allows manufacturers to satisfy the semiconductor industry's need for IP tracking and reporting.

About VSIA and VCID Availability

The Virtual Socket Interface Alliance (VSIA) is an open, international organization that includes representatives from all segments of the System-on-Chip industry: System houses, Semiconductor vendors, Electronic Design Automation (EDA), and Intellectual Property (IP) provider companies. VSIA's vision is to dramatically accelerate system-chip development by specifying open standards that facilitate the mix and match of virtual components from multiple sources. VSIA has wide industry participation with more than 170 member companies from Asia, Europe, and the US.

The VCID Standard (IPP 1 1.0) can be accessed and downloaded by VSIA members from the VSIA web site at http://www.vsi.org. Non-members licenses are available at a small fee.

About Artisan Components

Artisan Components, Inc., is the world leader in physical intellectual property (IP) library products, providing high-quality solutions for the world's leading semiconductor foundries, integrated device manufacturers, ASIC vendors and IC design teams. Founded in 1991, the company's Process-Perfect(TM) memory generators, standard cells and I/O cells are optimized to achieve the full speed, density and low power potential of each semiconductor process. Each product is verified using the industry's most comprehensive QA and validation procedures and delivered ready-to-use with a complete set of views and models supporting leading design tools. The company's headquarters are located at 1195 Bordeaux Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1201. World Wide Web address: http://www.artisan.com.

Note to Editors: Artisan is a registered trademark and Artiscan and Process-Perfect are trademarks of Artisan Components, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:
     Artisan Components, Inc.
     Claudia Natalia, 408/548-3172 (Corporate Communications)
     claudia@artisan.com
     Joyce Chowla, 408/548-3122 (Investor Relations)
     joyce@artisan.com