Magma Expanding China Operations, Launching University Program

Bangalore, India (SANEPR.com) June 23, 2008 -- “Driven by computing and consumer electronics demand, the Chinese semiconductor market is projected to surpass $28 billion in 2011,” said Rajeev Madhavan, CEO of Magma. “Doing business here requires an understanding of the dynamic characteristics of the Chinese market, the role of the government and the differences in business practices. By growing our operations here, providing leading-edge technology, leveraging the growing pool of talented EDA and IC engineers, increasing our local support and strengthening key relationships, Magma will demonstrate its commitment to facilitating this growth.”

Magma established its first Beijing facility in 2003 and added offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen. Magma China continues to recruit the best engineering talent for its R&D team, which is expected to play an important role in the development of the company’s digital design implementation and analog and custom design software. Sarah Xu Ph.D. was appointed to the role of managing director of Magma China, is tasked with increasing internal operational efficiency, and will act as the primary liaison to universities and intellectual property and electronic design automation (EDA) partners.

Two-Pronged University Program to Grow Talent Pool and Foster Semiconductor Research
Magma also announced today a two-pronged strategy for working with local universities to grow engineering talent pool and foster research. One aspect of the strategy is providing professors with course material, software and dedicated support for training students to use the Magma software. Additionally, Magma will contribute to China’s leading design automation research labs.

“To continue developing its semiconductor ecosystem, China is putting strong emphasis on engineering education and software development,” Xu said. “We are pleased to support these efforts by working with local universities to train engineers on Magma’s advanced EDA software and contribute to important research.”

“The Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is very excited to be launching its first VLSI CAD course this fall. Magma has provided our professors with course material and has trained them to use Magma’s software,” said Ying Wang, executive dean of the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “This close collaboration with Magma will enable us to teach our students how to design advanced ICs using cutting edge software, skills that will be important to furthering their career.”

“We’ve worked closely with Magma in a number of areas including an internship program and joint research program,” said Yici Cai, professor at Tsinghua University Computer Science Department. “With this successful collaboration as a foundation, we look forward to extending our relationship through the formal university program.”

“Magma is an extremely valuable partner,” said Xuan Zeng, vice dean of the School of Microelectronics at Fudan University. “Many of our graduate students have joined Magma’s Shanghai R&D team. Recently the company also agreed to fund Fudan University’s EDA research program and I am confident that this will yield important advances in electronic design automation.”

For more information about Magma China’s university program, call the Magma office in Beijing at 86-10-8260-7060.

About Magma
Magma's software for designing integrated circuits (ICs) is used to create complex, high-performance chips required in cellular telephones, electronic games, WiFi, MP3 players, DVD/digital video, networking, automotive electronics and other electronic applications. Magma's EDA software for IC implementation, analysis, physical verification, circuit simulation and characterization is recognized as embodying the best in semiconductor technology, enabling the world's top chip companies to "Design Ahead of the Curve"™ while reducing design time and costs. Magma is headquartered in San Jose, 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 or www.magma-da.com.cn.