ChipX Accelerates Development of XM Satellite Radio Receivers; ChipX Structured ASICs Provide Fast Turnaround Time, Low Risk to High-volume Production

Santa Clara, CA – March 17, 2005 – ChipX, the Structured ASIC leader, today announced that XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. has utilized ChipX Structured Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) for volume production of XM receiver integrated circuits. By offering the ability to rapidly design and prototype multiple iterations of ASICs the ChipX products helped XM bring different versions of its satellite receiver integrated circuits (ICs) to meet diverse enduser requirements.

XM is America's number one satellite radio service with more than 3.2 million subscribers. The ChipX products perform critical functions in sets that receive XM Satellite Radio Service broadcasts. To speed the development of advanced XM Receiver models, ChipX provided multiple design iterations and quickly delivered working prototypes. ChipX is also providing a seamless migration path to standard cell ICs for extremely low-cost, high-volume production.

“ChipX was highly responsive to our needs, delivering the fastest possible turnaround time for the design iterations we required,” said Paul Marko, Senior Vice President of Technology, XM Satellite Radio. “ChipX has consistently met their commitments and is dedicated to the success of our products in our marketplace.”

“In any emerging market, customer requirements fluctuate and getting the design perfectly right the first time is virtually impossible,” said Elie Massabki, Vice President of Marketing, ChipX. “With ChipX Structured ASICs, XM was able not only to respond quickly to the market needs, but also to offer a cost-effective solution essential for the success of high-volume consumer products.”

Structured ASICs are a relatively new category of semiconductors targeted at developers who are looking for fast time to market and lowest cost to profit, which is one of the most important metrics to track. Structured ASIC devices reduce much of the up-front NRE and shorten development time by using pre-diffused transistors and metal layers to implement logic cells, memory, and I/O common to many designs. Custom logic for a specific application is then implemented in the final few layers of metal, requiring far fewer mask layers for each design. Because of its granular architecture, ChipX Structured ASICs offer high gate density and much lower device cost compared to programmable devices.

About ChipX
ChipX, formerly known as Chip Express, is a leading manufacturer of late-stage programmable application-specific integrated circuits, or Structured ASICs. The company's innovative, patented technology consolidates wafer production tooling, reduces time-to-market and minimizes the total cost to profit. ChipX Structured ASIC technology is widely used in consumer equipment, computing peripherals, communication systems, industrial control, medical equipment, instrumentation and military/aerospace systems.

Headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, ChipX is a privately held corporation, founded in the U.S. in 1989. A subsidiary, ChipX (Israel) Ltd., performs Research & Development. Investors include Elron Electronic Industries, Ltd., VantagePoint Venture Partners, Wasserstein Venture Capital, Newlight Associates, Parker Price Venture Capital, UMC, Needham Capital Partners and Insite Capital.


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This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current information available to ChipX as of the date hereof. These statements are based on Management's current expectations and may ultimately prove to be incorrect or false. Factors which could cause future results to differ materially from the results discussed, implied, or forecasted in the forward-looking statements include delays in scheduled product availability dates (which could result from various occurrences including development or testing difficulties, software errors, shortages in appropriately skilled engineers and project management problems); the risks inherent in the commercialization of the Company's anticipated products and services; shifts in customer or market demand for the Company's anticipated products; the impact of competitive products and pricing; and possible disruptive effects of organizational changes, including retaining key personnel and coordinating operations. ChipX assumes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

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