SMSC ARC-Based Embedded Controllers Now Shipping in PC Applications

SAN JOSE, Calif., and ST. ALBANS, England, February 3, 2009 - ARC International (LSE: ARK) a leading provider of consumer intellectual property (IP) to OEM and semiconductor companies worldwide today announced that its processor IP, incorporated in certain SMSC embedded controllers, is now shipping in volume.  A long-time ARC customer, SMSC's ARC-Based™ embedded controllers manage the user interface, power management, and operating temperature in many PC designs.
 
"SMSC was attracted to the ARC solution because it matched very well with our strategic goal of creating application specific standard products that are unique for each of our customers," said Christine King, president and CEO of SMSC.  "With the ARC solution, we are able to craft an integrated circuit that is highly targeted at efficiently solving our OEM customers' individual requirement, thus enabling each of our customers to achieve differentiation knowing that the chip we supply will not be made available to any competitors."
 
"The success SMSC is having with their product offering points out the value that ARC affords each of its customers," said Carl Schlachte, president and CEO of ARC International.  "The ability to tailor the ARC processor IP to reduce silicon cost by removing unnecessary functionality and increase performance by adding unique capability ensures each of our customers produces a chip that is differentiated. And as SMSC has shown, the design tool support ARC provides enables our customers to create their differentiation with no impact on their time to market."
 
About ARC International plc

ARC International is a world leading provider of consumer IP to OEM and semiconductor companies globally.  ARC's award-winning, vertically integrated audio and video solutions enable high quality multimedia content to be captured, shared, and played on a wide range of electronics devices.  ARC's 150+ customers collectively ship hundreds of millions of ARC-Based™ chips annually in products such as Mobile TVs, Portable Media Players, WiFi-/WiMAX-enabled computers, flash storage, digital cameras, network appliances, and medical and government systems.
ARC International maintains a worldwide presence with corporate and research and development offices in San Jose and Lake Tahoe, Calif., St. Albans, England, St. Petersburg, Russia, and Hyderabad, India.  For more information visit www.ARC.com.  ARC International is listed on the London Stock Exchange as ARC International plc (LSE: ARK).