Synopsys Acquires Virtio Corporation

Acquisition to Address Exponentially Growing Software Design Bottleneck 

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - May 16, 2006 - Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS), a world leader in semiconductor design software, today announced it is expanding its presence in electronic system level (ESL) design by acquiring Virtio Corporation, creator of virtual platforms for embedded software development. The combination of Synopsys' System Studio solution with Virtio's virtual prototyping technology will help accelerate systems to market by giving software developers the ability to begin code development much earlier than with prevailing methods. The acquisition also puts Synopsys in a unique position to provide an integrated implementation, verification and IP solution to speed up hardware and software development.

Software content in systems continues to grow exponentially, creating a high level of complexity that has increased the need to validate the hardware and software of electronic systems as a whole. Waiting for the availability of prototype hardware in order to begin software development is delaying product delivery. A virtual platform solves this problem by providing a software model that allows developers to run and debug actual code at near real-time speeds, thus allowing development of drivers, operating systems and applications without the need for prototype hardware.

"System designers know they can get their products to market much earlier and with more confidence if embedded software development could begin without having to wait for the completion of the physical board and SoCs," said John Chilton, senior vice president and general manager of the Solutions Group at Synopsys. "Mutual Synopsys and Virtio customers are telling us that by using Virtio's virtual platform technology they've been able to avoid this delay and start software development nine to 12 months earlier. This acquisition gives Synopsys the opportunity to build on these successes and, by integrating Virtio's technology with our industry-leading IP and tools, help address designers' key ESL challenges."

About Synopsys
Synopsys, Inc. is a world leader in EDA software for semiconductor design. The company delivers technology-leading semiconductor design and verification platforms and IC manufacturing software products to the global electronics market, enabling the development and production of complex systems-on-chips (SoCs). Synopsys also provides intellectual property and design services to simplify the design process and accelerate time-to-market for its customers. Synopsys is headquartered in Mountain View, California and has offices in more than 60 locations throughout North America, Europe, Japan and Asia. Visit Synopsys online at www.synopsys.com.