Chipidea Selected To Europe's 500

– Chipidea®, the world’s leading provider of analog/mixed-signal silicon intellectual property, today announced that it has been named again, for the fifth consecutive year, to Europe’s 500 ranking of the fastest growing companies.

Chipidea is expected to rank among the top 300 fastest-growing companies from 28 countries in the annual survey by Europe’s 500 Entrepreneurs for Growth. Award recipients are scheduled to be listed Oct. 20 on the organization’s Web site at www.europe500.com . Moreover, businessweek.com is expected to profile Europe’s 500 top job-creating companies and will include Chipidea’s ranking in the global edition of BusinessWeek magazine that will hit newsstands on the same day.

Chipidea has added more than 70 employees over the last two years and experienced double-digit growth in revenue. The company has been ranked as the world’s top general purpose analog/mixed signal IP provider by market research company Gartner Inc. for the last two years and its growth rate continues to outpace the overall semiconductor industry average.

“This award shows our continued dedication to the entrepreneurial spirit, innovative management, business growth and employment creation over the past five years,” said José Epifânio da Franca, Chipidea’s chairman, president and CEO. “We have worked hard to become known throughout the world as a trusted partner for our customers. Our growth these past five years is a result of our ability to meet the needs of expanding customer base while maintaining an excellent level of service.”

Inclusion among Europe’s 500 entails a rigorous application and review process by the organization. It researches, targets and pre-selects high-growth companies from 28 countries. Applications for companies nominated can then be verified by national experts, legal auditors and on-site visits.

Europe’s 500 was founded in 1996 as a non-profit membership and networking organization for growth entrepreneurs dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and growth in Europe. The organization has more than 2,000 members.

About Chipidea
Chipidea Microelectrónica S.A. is the world’s leading provider of analog/mixed-signal silicon intellectual property, according to market researcher Gartner Dataquest Inc. The company is a key supplier to system-on-chip designers targeting fast-growing market segments in wireless communications, digital media and consumer electronics. With the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of silicon-proven technology across a variety of product lines, Chipidea offers the widest breadth of intellectual property solutions for the world’s multi-function integrated circuit industry. Chipidea works hand-in-hand with its customers to ensure that its unique analog/mixed-signal expertise results in silicon success. Based in Lisbon, Portugal, Chipidea employs 250 people in research, development and sales and marketing offices across Europe, Asia and North America. Information about Chipidea can be found at www.chipidea.com.