Released on = September 11, 2006, 2:54 am

Press Release Author = prhub

Industry = Semiconductors

Press Release Summary = Seamless RTL-to-GDSII flow eliminated iterations, reduced
cost of design and improved QoR

Press Release Body = Magma® Design Automation Inc. (Nasdaq: LAVA), a provider of
semiconductor design software, today announced that AltaSens, the premier supplier
of high-performance image sensors for high-definition video, taped out a
multimillion-gate, high-performance, mixed-signal image sensor using Magma's
products Blast CreateT and Blast FusionT.



\"Two key issues for us are increasing performance and reducing area for our chip
designs, and Magma makes that possible," said Roberto Marchesini, director of
Engineering of AltaSens. "Blast Create and Blast Fusion concurrently optimize for
timing and area, delivering significantly better quality of results and faster
turnaround.\"



The Blast Create RTL-to-placed-gates and Blast Fusion physical design software
provided advanced capabilities that were key to enabling AltaSens to meet their
performance and time-to-market goals. The large pixel array of the AltaSens design
had to fit into very tight area constraints and odd-shaped regions. Magma's tightly
integrated RTL-to-GDSII flow enabled AltaSens to meet the area and shape constraints
and still meet tight timing requirements. With the help of Magma's advanced
placement features, AltaSens designers were able to achieve a fully automated
methodology to implement their decoupling techniques.



"AltaSens is an innovative startup in an exciting new market segment & also being
the premier supplier of high performance CMOS image sensors for the emerging world
of high definition video," said Kam Kittrell, general manager of Magma's Design
Implementation Business Unit. "We're pleased that Blast Create and Blast Fusion were
effective in meeting AltaSens' design requirements."


About Magma

Magma's software for integrated circuit (IC) design is recognized as embodying the
best in semiconductor technology. The world's top chip companies use Magma's
electronic design automation (EDA) software to design and verify complex,
high-performance ICs for communications, computing, consumer electronics and
networking applications, while at the same time reducing design time and costs.
Magma provides software for IC implementation, analysis, physical verification,
characterization and programmable logic design, and its integrated RTL-to-GDSII
design flow offers "The Fastest Path from RTL to Silicon"T. Magma is headquartered
in Santa Clara, Calif., with offices around the world. Magma's stock trades on
Nasdaq under the ticker symbol LAVA. Visit Magma Design Automation on the Web at
www.magma-da.com.



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Magma and Blast Fusion are registered trademarks, and Blast Create and "The Fastest
Path from RTL to Silicon" are trademarks of Magma Design Automation. All other
product and company names are trademarks and registered trademarks of their
respective companies.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in
this press release, including statements that Magma software reduces area and
improves chip performance and about the features and benefits of Magma software are
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the \"safe harbor\" provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.These forward-looking statements
are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially including, but not limited to Magma's ability to keep pace with rapidly
changing technology, its products' abilities to produce desired results and
AltaSens' decision to continue using the software. Further discussion of these and
other potential risk factors may be found in Magma\'s public filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov). Magma undertakes no additional
obligation to update these forward-looking statements.


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Contact Details = divya@prhub.com