Axis Systems' Xcite to Speed up Design Cycle for Toppan in Competitive Japanese Design Services Market

Sunnyvale, CA - March 25, 2003 - Axis Systems, Inc. today announced that Toppan Technical Design Center Co., Ltd. has acquired the Axis Xcite 2000 to speed the design cycle and expand design services in the Japanese market. The purchase follows the successful application of the Xcite 1000 in previous designs.

"As the size and complexity of SoCs continues to increase, more of the design is developed in software. As a result, the time needed for verification multiplies. However today's market demands that products be high quality and completed more quickly," said Noboru Suzuki, manager of Toppan's Asaka Design Center. "To attain these requirements, verification must be faster and encompass hardware and software co-verification. With Axis' advanced debugging and fast bring up time, we are able to complete verification in a shorter time and produce high quality designs that have given us an edge in the design services market."

"We are very pleased in Toppan's confidence in using Axis' solutions as a key technology in their business," said Kuniyoshi Hirayama, President of Axis Japan Co., Ltd. "As a leading design center, Toppan's selection of Axis as one of their differentiators is a significant endorsement of our approach to functional verification."

Xcite, based on Axis' patented ReConfigurable Computing (RCC) technology, delivers simulation and acceleration in a single system using one design database. Xcite offers simulation performance of up to 100K cycles/second on a design capacity of up to 10M ASIC gates, while preserving the native software simulation debugging environment.

About Toppan Technical Design Center Co., LTD
Toppan Technical Design Center Co., LTD is a wholly owned subsidiary of Toppan Printing Co. Ltd, which was founded in 1900 in Tokyo, Japan. Toppan Technical Design Center Co., LTD has its headquarters at 2-7, Yaesu 2-Chome, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo Japan and has nine (9) design Center offices in Japan. Toppan Technical Design Center Co., LTD develop Information (Graphics and Communication) equipment and focusing four segments, LSI Design, Turnkey Service, Software (Application, Firmware, Operating System) development including System Development, and Consultation service for planning and development of Information equipments.

Toppan Printing Co. Ltd. is the second largest printing company in the world, ranked number 489 among the Fortune International 500, with sales of over 9.8 Billion dollars. The seed of printing technology has branched out into a variety of areas of business including: securities and smart cards, commercial printing, publication printing, packaging, industrial materials, electronics, and e-business.

About Axis Systems
Axis Systems, Inc. offers high-performance verification systems for the hardware and software development of complex electronic system and system-on-a-chip designs. Axis' products help increase confidence in new designs, improve overall verification productivity and shorten time to market. On a single system and with one design database, Axis' patented ReConfigurable Computing (RCC) technology provides software simulation, accelerated simulation, system emulation and hardware/software co-verification. Customers include the world's leading graphics, networking, multimedia, and processor companies. Axis is headquartered at 209 E. Java Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089. To learn more about Axis, visit www.AxisSystems.com.