FSA Finds Funding of Fabless Companies Rises 36% QoQ

SAN JOSE, Calif. (June 1, 2005) – FSA, the voice of the global fabless business model, announces the results of its CYQ1 2005 Global Fabless Fundings and Financials Report, the most comprehensive report on the financial performance of fabless companies around the globe, examining both fundings and financial market performance.

Fabless Funding Highlights:

• 30 deals closed for a total of $357.9M in CYQ1 2005, a 36% increase in funding amount quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and a 15% increase in deals closed QoQ.
• Solarflare Communications, Inc. raised the highest amount of funding with a $48M deal.
• Six companies closed deals worth more than $20M, a significant increase from CYQ4 2004, in which no company raised greater than $20M.
• The fabless segment contributed 90% to the overall semiconductor sector funding total of $397.55M.
• Year-over-year (YoY) fabless fundings decreased 36%.

“The venture community continues to fund fabless companies that are founded by strong teams and targeting rapidly growing markets,” said Jake Seid, senior associate with Lightspeed Venture Partners. “The trend is for startups to think globally about their markets, competition and operations increasingly sooner rather than later. This trend is helping drive innovation and the opportunities that entrepreneurs and VCs see in building new fabless companies.”

Fabless Financials Highlights:

• Total worldwide public fabless revenue in CYQ1 2005 was $8.3B, a 4.7% YoY increase.
• QoQ growth for the fabless market decreased 6.2%.
• Geographically, North America represented 81% of fabless revenue, followed by Asia at 17% and Europe at 2%.

Please see chart for a breakdown of the top 10 fabless companies by CYQ1 2005 revenue.

The report includes an end-market breakdown of funding investments and financials covering 158 public companies and analyst forecasts. For more information, visit http://www.fsa.org/store.

About FSA:
FSA is the voice of the global fabless business model. Incorporated in 1994, FSA positively impacts the growth and return on invested capital of this business model to enhance the environment for innovation. It provides a platform for meaningful global collaboration between fabless companies and their partners; provides timely research and resources; and identifies, debates, and discusses business and technical issues. Members include fabless companies and their supply chain and service partners, representing more than 21 countries across the globe. www.fsa.org.