Tensilica Processor IP Selected by NEC

IP News

Santa Clara, Calif., February 21, 2000 ... Tensilica[tm] Inc., a Santa Clara-based provider of application-specific processor technology, disclosed today that NEC Corporation has entered into a license agreement with the company for its Xtensa[tm] processor technology. NEC will use Tensilica's processor generator for the development of embedded microprocessors for use in variety of advanced communications products.

Speaking for NEC, Hitoshi Sato, Assistant General Manager of NEC's Switching Division, said "We are committed to finding and exploiting leading-edge technologies that will allow us to continually develop and provide advanced communications products and systems to our customers. After a careful and thorough review of the unique and powerful Xtensa technology, we decided to ally with Tensilica to help us create new system-level integrated circuits that will power future NEC products."

Bernie Rosenthal, Tensilica's vice president of marketing and business development, said, "NEC performed an extensive evaluation of our Xtensa technology and determined that it was well suited for their current and future needs in communications processing. The flexibility to add instructions and functional units without needing a deep knowledge of the processor's microarchitecture was a key ease-of-use attribute that ultimately led to NEC's agreement to license Xtensa."

About NEC

NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY) pioneered the concept of C&C, the integration of Computers and Communications, and is the only company in the world to be counted among top ranking corporations spanning the wide range of fields essential for this vision of multimedia: computers, communications and electronic devices. Employing in excess of 150,000 people around the world, NEC saw net sales in fiscal year 1998-99 amount to 4,759 billion yen (approx. US$40 billion). For further information visit www.nec-global.com.

About Tensilica

Tensilica was founded in July 1997 to address the fast-growing market for application-specific microprocessor cores and software development tools in high volume, embedded systems. Using the company's proprietary Xtensa[tm] Processor Generator, system-on-a-chip (SOC) designers can develop a processor subsystem hardware design and a complete software development tool environment tailored to their specific requirements in hours. Tensilica's solutions provide a proven, easy-to-use, methodology that enables designers to achieve optimum application performance in minimum design time. The Company has over 70 engineers engaged in research, development, and customer support from its offices in Santa Clara, California, Waltham, Massachusetts, and Yokohama, Japan.

Tensilica is headquartered in Santa Clara, California (95054) at 3255-6 Scott Boulevard, and can be reached at (408) 986-8000 or via the World Wide Web at www.tensilica.com

"Tensilica" and "Xtensa" are the trademarks belonging to Tensilica Inc.