ROHM Standardizes on CoWare ConvergenSC System-on-Chip Design Environment for Electronic System Level Design

Corporate Purchase Agreement Gives ROHM Worldwide Access to CoWare Technology and Training

SAN JOSE, Calif., September 30, 2004 -- CoWare, Inc., the leading supplier of system-level electronic design automation (EDA) software and services, announced that ROHM Co., LTD., the leading provider of system LSI with the latest semiconductor technology, has standardized on CoWare's SystemC-based ConvergenSC™ system-on-chip (SoC) design environment for electronic system-level (ESL) design. The multi-million dollar corporate purchase agreement gives ROHM broad access to CoWare technology and training for its engineers worldwide.

"As system LSI chips are increasingly combined into SoCs with multiple processors, ESL design is key to addressing the challenges associated with the rising amount of embedded software that must be designed and verified with the hardware in these designs," said Mr. Hiroo Mochida, director, LSI Development Systems Headquarters, ROHM. "We selected CoWare's ESL design solutions based on the company's great track record, strong tool capabilities, large offering of IP models, and excellent services and support. Through this purchase agreement, ROHM will work closely with CoWare to accelerate development of an ESL methodology to address rising design complexity, and help our customers differentiate their products and accelerate time-to-market."

ROHM will use the ConvergenSC products worldwide for the design of multiple applications including image processing, mobile phones, and storage applications. The hardware/software co-design, early software development, and fast simulation capabilities in ConvergenSC—along with its open SystemC-based flow—will enable ROHM's ASIC customers to accelerate their time-to-market and differentiate their end products with optimized architectures and memory subsystems, bus design, and hardware/software partitioning.

"Recognized as one of the most visionary and profitable semiconductor companies for more than 50 years, ROHM is known for its technological and strategic innovation," said Alan Naumann, president and CEO, CoWare. "By adopting an ESL design methodology to offer further value to its ASIC customers, ROHM continues its long history of innovation."

About CoWare ConvergenSC

CoWare ConvergenSC speeds the concurrent design of SoCs with embedded software. The ConvergenSC product family combines hardware/software partitioning and platform assembly together with simulation, debug and analysis capabilities. Together with the ConvergenSC Model Library, the largest IP model library for SystemC, customers can rapidly create and validate SoC designs at the transaction level in SystemC. For pricing information, contact your local sales office. For more information on ConvergenSC and CoWare‚s other products, visit www.coware.com.

About CoWare

CoWare is the leading supplier of system-level electronic design automation (EDA) software tools and services. CoWare offers a comprehensive set of electronic system-level (ESL) tools that enable SoC developers to "differentiate by design" through the creation of system-IP including embedded processors, on-chip buses, and DSP algorithms; the architecture of optimized SoC platforms; and hardware/software co-design. The company's solutions are based on open industry standards including SystemC. CoWare's customers are major systems, semiconductor, and IP companies in the market where consumer electronics, computing, and communications converge. CoWare's corporate investors include ARM Ltd. [(LSE:ARM);(Nasdaq: ARMHY)], Cadence Design Systems (NYSE:CDN), STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), and Sony Corporation (NYSE:SNE). CoWare is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and has offices around the world. For more information about CoWare and its products and services, visit http://www.coware.com.

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