Artisan Components And IBM Team On Advanced Chip Solutions

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and FISHKILL, N.Y., May 20, 2002 - Artisan Components, Inc. (Nasdaq:ARTI) and IBM today announced an agreement that pairs Artisan's chip design platforms with IBM's advanced chip-manufacturing capabilities.

Under the terms of the agreement, Artisan has committed to deliver multiple generations of the company's comprehensive offering of memory generators, standard cells and I/O library products matched to IBM's process technologies. Artisan's design platforms, in use by over 900 companies worldwide, combined with IBM's leading manufacturing technologies can provide IC designers with proven solutions that meet today's complex chip design and volume production requirements.

A phased introduction of Artisan products is planned to support a range of IBM technologies, including 0.25-, 0.18-, 0.13-micron and 90-nanometer, with variations in materials and performance. IBM expects customer production of Artisan-based designs later this year at its Burlington, Vermont manufacturing facility.

"We are very pleased to be working with IBM to optimize Artisan's design platforms for IBM's latest technologies," said Mark Templeton, president and CEO of Artisan Components. "We believe IBM's leading process and high-volume manufacturing capabilities, combined with Artisan's widely used products, position both companies for continued success in the system-on-a-chip market."

IBM's relationship with Artisan is part of a strategy to make IBM technology and design expertise available through high-volume chip manufacturing services. IBM has become recognized as a provider of cutting-edge chip technologies, with innovations such as copper wiring, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) transistors and embedded DRAM memory.

"Customers are recognizing that our technology can do much more for their products than what traditional foundries are able to provide," said Mike Concannon, vice president of contract manufacturing services for the IBM Microelectronics Division. "We're working with Artisan to make it easier for customers to do business with IBM."

Chip designers are looking to advanced technologies to provide their products with a competitive advantage. However as circuits get smaller and new materials are introduced, integrated circuit (IC) design has become more challenging. Today's designers require advanced design platforms such as those from Artisan that are optimized for the latest advances in manufacturing and design techniques.

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, the production of Artisan-based designs at IBM later this year and Artisan's commitment to deliver to IBM multiple generations of its library products. These statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, whether there will be technical or other difficulties that delay or prevent the availability of the Artisan products described above; and market acceptance of the Artisan products described above. We refer you also to the documents that Artisan files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in particular the section entitled "Factors Affecting Future Operating Results" in Artisan's annual report on Form 10-K and its quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q.

About Artisan Components
Artisan Components, Inc. is a leading semiconductor intellectual property (IP) provider. The company's design platforms are in use by design teams at over 900 companies worldwide. Artisan's design platforms provide IC designers with a common interface to a range of process technologies from the world's leading foundries. Built on Artisan's Process-Perfect(TM) memory generators, standard cell and I/O libraries, Artisan's design platforms include a comprehensive set of views and models supporting leading design tools and methodologies. Artisan's worldwide network of EDA, IP and design service partners extend the Artisan standard to a complete set of system level design and integration solutions. Artisan is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. More information about Artisan Components, including free library access can be found at: http://www.artisan.com.

About IBM
IBM Microelectronics is a key contributor to IBM's role as the world's premier information technology supplier. IBM Microelectronics develops, manufactures and markets state-of-the-art semiconductor and interconnect technologies, products and services. IBM makes chips for a wide range of devices from the world's most powerful computers to the smallest cell phones. Its superior integrated solutions can be found in many of the world's best-known electronic brands. More information about IBM Microelectronics can be found at: http://www.ibm.com/chips.

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Artisan Components is a registered trademark and Artisan, Process-Perfect and SAGE-X are trademarks of Artisan Components, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.