Key ASIC Collaboration to Expand Its ASIC Products and Licenses PowerPC

SANTA CLARA, Calif. & KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia-- July 21, 2009 -- Key ASIC, a leading fabless provider of ASIC and System-on-Chip (SoC) design-to-manufacture services, today announces the company’s ability to offer IBM’s semiconductor technology to its customers. As a part of the Key ASIC/ IBM relationship, Key ASIC will sell IBM produced wafers which contain design content and services from Key ASIC to its customers.

In addition, Key ASIC announces that it has licensed the PowerPC® microprocessor from IBM. Key ASIC has licensed the PowerPC® 405 and 460 cores for its ASIC business.

Key ASIC has focused its ASIC products business in the consumer and communications segments by providing its own IP and design services that optimize SoC designs for performance, power, and cost as required by a demanding networking and consumer electronics industry. Key ASIC will leverage its IP and core competence in SoC design with the advanced semiconductor technology from IBM for Key ASIC’s customers.

“Key ASIC is focused on expanding its technology base and capability to better serve the consumer and communications markets. We have worked with IBM’s advanced technology at 65nm and now, we have the manufacturing and technology support from IBM to provide differentiated products that are high performance and cost effective for our targeted markets. IBM is leading the world with advance process technology and we would like to help our customers to build the greatest products with it,” said Kah Yee Eg, Chairman of Key ASIC.

“We are pleased that Key ASIC has chosen IBM's leadership process technology and innovative Common Platform® manufacturing solution to enhance its ASIC offerings to the marketplace,” said Steve Hasselmann, Vice President of Semiconductor Products and Services, IBM Microelectronics. “The leverage of IBM’s strong technology roadmap and the licensing of the IBM PowerPC® processor cores will be a solid addition to Key ASIC's SoC design capabilities.”

As performance, cost, and power considerations drive leading edge consumer devices, Key ASIC’s access to leading semiconductor process technologies coupled with its design expertise in the leading process nodes provides compelling cost and performance advantages for consumer and network semiconductor products.

About Key ASIC

Key ASIC Group of companies (Key ASIC), is a fabless provider of high-performance, low-power ASIC design and manufacturing services for consumer, wireless and personal electronics applications. Key ASIC has a portfolio of Semiconductor Intellectual Property targeted for consumer and mobile communications applications. Key ASIC has design locations in Silicon Valley (USA) and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Key ASIC Bhd. is a public company traded on the Main Board in Kuala Lumpur (0143.KL). Please visit www.keyasic.com.