Artisan Forms Analog and Mixed-Signal Business Unit

Callan Carpenter to Head New San Diego-based Operation

SUNNYVALE, Calif., -- May 14, 2003 -- Artisan Components, Inc., (Nasdaq: ARTI), a leading provider of physical intellectual property (IP), today announced its newly formed Analog and Mixed-Signal Business Unit in San Diego, California. The company's acquisition of NurLogic Design, Inc. in February 2003 is the basis for expansion into this segment of high-performance analog IP and high-bandwidth connectivity cores.

With NurLogic's analog products, specialty I/Os, Serializer/De-Serializer (SerDes) and PCI Express™ interface cores, Artisan now adds products and in-house design expertise up to the system level, providing a broader portfolio of IP to accelerate system-on-a-chip (SoC) design and production. To head this new operation, Artisan has appointed Callan Carpenter as general manager.

"Until recently, standard cells, memories and I/Os have met the key needs of designers. However the design community is now demanding a higher level of IP integration such as analog, specialty I/Os and system interface cores," said Mark Templeton, president and chief executive officer. "Callan brings the technical, management and operational experience required to expand the already solid base of system-level expertise and products."

"The offer to join the Artisan team was one that I just couldn't pass up," said Carpenter. "As an IP market leader, Artisan is uniquely poised to serve the needs of IC designers by making analog and mixed-signal IP as available to the market as its well-known digital foundation IP."

Carpenter has spent over 18 years in the electronics industry, most recently as president of Silicon Metrics Corporation, a start-up in circuit characterization, modeling and analysis. Prior to Silicon Metrics, Carpenter was vice president of marketing at Mentor Graphics. Carpenter holds his BSEE and MBA degrees from the University of Texas in Austin.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding potential future revenue opportunities for Artisan, and the expansion of Artisan's analog and mixed-signal product offerings. Actual results may differ materially. These statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including the demand for Artisan's analog and mixed-signal products; successful production volumes of integrated circuits using Artisan's analog and mixed-signal products; Artisan's ability to motivate and retain employees of the Analog and Mixed-Signal Business Unit; and the integration of Artisan's analog and mixed-signal products with Artisan's other products. We refer you also to the documents that the Company files from time-to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in particular the section entitled "Factors Affecting Future Operating Results" in the Company's annual report on form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q. Artisan disclaims any obligation to update or correct the information contained in this press release as a result of financial, business or any other developments occurring after the date of the release.

About Artisan Components
Artisan Components, Inc. is a leading provider of physical intellectual property (IP) components for the design and manufacture of complex system-on-a-chip integrated circuits. Artisan's products include embedded memory, standard cell, input/output, analog, mixed-signal and communications components, which are designed to achieve the best combination of performance, density, power and yield for a given manufacturing process. Artisan has licensed its IP components to over 1,000 companies involved in integrated circuit design. Artisan is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. More information about Artisan Components, including free library access can be found at: http://www.artisan.com

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