Mentor Graphics Veloce Emulation System Adopted by MIPS to Accelerate Verification for Processor IP

WILSONVILLE, Ore. -- September 2, 2009 – Mentor Graphics Corp. (NASDAQ: MENT), the leader in high-performance system verification solutions, today announced that MIPS Technologies, a leading microprocessor semiconductor IP company, has adopted the Veloce® platform for the complete system-level verification of its licensable microprocessor cores that are used in a variety of embedded applications. MIPS® cores are used prominently by other Veloce platform users such as NXP Semiconductors, a leading supplier of digital TV SoCs. MIPS Technologies chose the Veloce platform due to its superior debug capabilities, performance, accuracy, and extensive portfolio of iSolve™ vertical market solutions.

“As a technology leader in embedded processor IP, MIPS has successfully leveraged Veloce on several of our recent IP development projects—including the multi-threaded, multi-core 1004K Coherent Processing System—to verify new cores before releasing them to customers,” said Larry Hudepohl, vice president of engineering for MIPS Technologies. “We use Veloce extensively in an in-circuit emulation mode and for simulation acceleration. The Mentor emulation team helped us tremendously in making an easy transition to the Veloce platform from our previous systems.”

The Veloce platform is the industry’s fastest dual-mode Accelerator/Emulator available, providing MHz performance for both transaction-based verification and traditional in-circuit emulation (ICE). With an extensive portfolio of vertical market solutions, the Veloce platform is the platform of choice for multimedia, networking, wireless, and embedded systems applications.

“We have worked closely with MIPS Technologies for many years to provide the best possible emulation solution that meets their needs and addresses the challenges the company faces in verifying processor designs,” said Eric Selosse, vice president and general manager, Mentor Emulation Division. “To support the large and growing base of MIPS licensees, we will soon announce new products supporting MIPS processor cores.”

“NXP continues to drive system-level integration to provide advanced solutions to our customers,” said Iqbal Sharif, general manager, SoC Design Centre of the home business unit, NXP Semiconductors. “Pre- and post-silicon testing of our SoCs requires a massive number of verification cycles to validate functionality and avoid design flaws. The use of Veloce for hardware-assisted verification has played an important role for NXP to achieve the high-speed verification and testing required. This ultimately enables us to beat our tight schedules in a highly-competitive market. NXP is the first to introduce a global single chip digital TV platform on 45nm—TV550—which enables high-end TV features in mainstream TVs.”

About Mentor Graphics
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 about $800 million and employs approximately 4,425 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com/.