Mentor Graphics Unveils Inventra IPX to Accelerate and Ease Intellectual Property Evaluation and Integration for PLD Designs

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 2001-- Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq:MENT) today announced the Inventra(TM) IPX suite of intellectual property (IP) soft cores.

Accessed directly through the Mentor Graphics® LeonardoSpectrum(TM) synthesis tool as a `plug-in' product option, Inventra IPX provides programmable logic designers direct, affordable access to a collection of proven IP cores, simplifying the IP selection, optimization and integration processes that have previously been barriers to rapid Field Programmable System-on-Chip (FPSoC) design. The first release of Inventra IPX supports the Altera® Corporation's (Nasdaq:ALTR) encrypted IP flow which enables a protected IP flow between Mentor's LeonardoSpectrum synthesis tool and Altera's Quartus II(TM) development software for optimized place and route.

``Inventra IPX solves many of the business issues surrounding the acquisition, evaluation and integration of third-party intellectual property in PLD designs,'' said Dr. Susheel Chandra, general manager of the Mentor Graphics Inventra Intellectual Property Division. ``With FPSoC design becoming a reality, meeting the challenge of access and integration of proven IP cores is critical for getting new designs to market. Mentor Graphics has leveraged expertise company-wide and from our partner, Altera, to create an easy-to-use, low-cost IP solution optimized around selection, verification, and integration that allows designers to shave months off their development schedules.''

Inventra IPX contains tool-specific representations of Inventra IP, encrypted VHDL and Verilog RTL and compiled simulation models, for use in simulation, synthesis and place-and-route with the ModelSim®, LeonardoSpectrum, and Quartus II software. During the synthesis phase, LeonardoSpectrum optimizes an encrypted Inventra IPX core upon a single command. The resulting netlist is then imported automatically into Quartus II software for placement into the programmable logic device (PLD) design. This streamlined solution saves designers valuable time and effort, which can be applied to developing features to differentiate their products in the competitive computing, consumer and communications markets.

Inventra IPX Simplifies Design of Multi-Million Gate Programmable Logic Devices

Fabrication process improvements down to 0.13-micron have enabled high-frequency, multi-million gate FPSoC devices to become a mainstay in design. The resource demands and time-to-market pressures placed on designers are eased by using third-party IP for standard functions. The Mentor Graphics IPX cores are designed to preserve the time-to-market benefits of these programmable devices as they increase in complexity.

``Easy access to intellectual property provides our customers with a competitive advantage in designing their next-generation applications,'' said Craig Lytle, vice president of the Intellectual Property business unit of Altera. ``Optimizing the performance of our latest product offering requires a comprehensive IP solution that's closely linked to both synthesis and place and route. Inventra IPX combined with our Quartus II software place and route engine provides our customers with a complete methodology that accelerates application development.''

Pricing and Availability

Inventra IPX is now available on an annual subscription basis for $5,500 per seat and is packaged with a set of twelve Inventra cores that include:

M8051 8-bit Microcontroller
MPCMCIA1 PCMCIA Card Interface
M82365SL PCMCIA Host Interface
MI2C I-squared C Bus Interface
M16550A Enhanced UART
M16X50 Enhanced UART w/FIFO and IrDA
M1284H IEEE 1284 Host Parallel Port
M8237A 4-Channel DMA Controller
M8254 3-Channel Counter/Timer
M8255 Parallel Peripheral Interface
M8259A 8-Channel Peripheral Interrupt Controller
M8490 5380-compatible SCSI Interface

For more information, contact your local sales representatives at ipx@hdlsolutions.com, call 1.877.435.4255, or visit http://www.mentor.com/inventra/ipx.

About Mentor Graphics Corporation

Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world's most successful electronics and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of more than $600 million and employs approximately 2,975 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: www.mentor.com.

Mentor Graphics and ModelSim are registered trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. LeonardoSpectrum and Inventra are trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. Quartus II software is a trademark of Altera Corp. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.

Contact:
     Mentor Graphics
     Larry Toda, 503/685-1664
     larry_toda@mentor.com
            OR
     Benjamin Group/BSMG Worldwide
     Victor Domine, 408/559-6090
     vdomine@bsmg.com