[November 07, 2012]

Tanner EDA Grows Revenue, Technology Partnerships and Customer Base for Fiscal 2012

Tanner EDA, the catalyst for innovation for the design, layout and verification of analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs), closed fiscal 2012 (year ending May 2012) with strong growth across a number of key business and technology metrics. The company celebrated its 25^th year in business with growth in revenues, new customers, product offerings, technology partnerships and foundry relationships.

Total revenue for the year was up over fiscal year 2011, continuing a steady upward trend. Regional revenue growth was in line with top-line growth rates, with strong performance coming from Japan, Europe and the rest of the world. Partnership with Australian Semiconductor Technology Corporation (ASTC), which provides global consulting services for semiconductors, software and systems, extended delivery of analog/mixed signal ASIC design services and solutions globally.

149 new customers were added to the Tanner EDA customer base during the period, exemplifying the company's price-performance leadership in the industry. Tanner EDA's HiPer Silicon full-flow analog tool suite was used to design analog and mixed-signal (A/MS) devices for applications that included image sensors, medical devices, and power management subsystems as well as analog IP. Tanner's L-Edit MEMS and related product offerings also saw strong growth over the year, continuing to gain traction as the tool of choice for designers of sensors and micro-machines.

Product line growth also was significant. New features and functionality were added to HiPer Silicon in version 15.23 to tools such as T-Spice, S-Edit and HiPer DevGen, Tanner EDA's layout acceleration tool. Technology partnerships were showcased at DAC 2012 , where the company announced the Tanner Analog FastSPICE solution, an add-on to Tanner EDA's front end and full flow A/MS design suites. Analog FastSPICE brings Berkeley Design Automation's Analog FastSPICE platform to Tanner EDA customers, delivering foundry-certified nanometer SPICE accuracy at speeds 5x-10x faster than any other simulator on a single core as well as an additional 2x-4x performance uptick with multithreading. The HiPer Simulation A/MS solution, which offers T-Spice analog design capture and simulation together with Aldec's Riviera-PRO™ mixed language digital simulator, allows both analog and digital designers to seamlessly resolve A/MS verification problems from one cohesive, integrated platform.

More microelectrical mechanical systems (MEMS) designs have been taped out on Tanner EDA tools than on any other software. For MEMS designers, demonstrations and webinars on new capabilities in L-Edit MEMS showed designers new curve tools, DXF import/export and design rule checking (DRC). Collaboration with SoftMEMS was showcased at DAC, at a partner conference in Israel, and in webinars. Attendees learned how to visualize MEMS devices in 3D from mask layout and fabrication step descriptions, how to co-simulate electronics and MEMS to calculate system timing, and how to model and evaluate the thermal, mechanical and electrical performance of new packaging concepts.

Customer outreach and feedback for product development was enhanced with the expansion of the Tanner EDA User Community, a discussion forum for connection among designers and the company. The community has grown to 866 active members sharing tips, learning new technologies and best practices, and sharing information, ideas and successes.

"This year marked our concerted effort to advance from interoperability to tighter integration so that we can continue to deliver greater capability to our analog and mixed-signal customers," said Greg Lebsack, president of Tanner EDA. "The level of innovation in our customer base - from power management systems for medical devices to image sensors in consumer devices - prompted us to increase our partnerships, technical collaborations and foundry relationships as we meet the needs of designers who have to tackle digital considerations even as they are designing analog devices. This same focus on technical collaborations also allowed us to deliver new capabilities to our longest-standing customers in the MEMS area and to expand into new customers in that area. Our customers seem happy with this approach, which is what is keeping the company strong."

About Tanner EDA

Tanner EDA provides a complete line of software solutions that drive innovation for the design, layout and verification of analog and mixed-signal (A/MS) integrated circuits (ICs) and MEMS. Customers are creating breakthrough applications in areas such as power management, displays and imaging, automotive, consumer electronics, life sciences, and RF devices. A low learning curve, high interoperability, and a powerful user interface improve design team productivity and enable a low total cost of ownership (TCO). Capability and performance are matched by low support requirements and high support capability as well as an ecosystem of partners that bring advanced capabilities to A/MS designs.

Founded in 1988, Tanner EDA solutions deliver just the right mixture of features, functionality and usability. The company has shipped over 33,000 licenses of its software to more than 5,000 customers in 67 countries.

HiPer Verify, HiPer Silicon, Tanner Tools, L-Edit, S-Edit and W-Edit are trademarks of Tanner Research, Inc. Any other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

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