UMC Standardizes on Industry-Leading ARM Artisan Platform for Physical IP

Cambridge, UK, April 15, 2016 – ARM and UMC, a leading global semiconductor foundry, today announced a new strategic partnership to develop multiple physical IP platforms, enabling UMC customers to easily implement ARM^® Artisan^® physical IP into SoC designs and reduce time-to-market.

The agreement spans applications in automotive, Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile, from a 55ULP platform for IoT applications to a 14nm FinFET test chip for leading-edge mobile applications. This further enhances ARM's position as the leading provider of logic and memory IP to the semiconductor industry, with 9.8 billion chips based on Artisan foundation physical IP shipping in 2015.

"Design complexity is increasing as the connected world places greater demand on the mobile, IoT and embedded markets," said Will Abbey, general manager, physical design group, ARM. "UMC's selection of ARM as its foremost physical IP provider gives our mutual silicon partners a robust set of tools and platforms to deliver optimized SoC implementations and accelerate time-to-market."

"With an unmatched range of advanced and speciality technologies, UMC is well positioned to meet the needs of our customers across broad applications," said SC Chien, senior vice president and head of IP Development and Design Support division at UMC. "The extension of our partnership with ARM will enable us to continue to offer comprehensive design platforms that improve integration and drive further performance and power benefits as new opportunities emerge for our customers."

About ARM

ARM (LSE: ARM, NASDAQ: ARMH) designs technology at the heart of the world's most advanced digital products. We are enabling the development of new markets and transformation of industries and society, invisibly creating opportunity for a globally connected population. Our scalable, energy-efficient processor designs and related technologies deliver intelligence wherever computing happens, ranging from sensors to servers, including smartphones, tablets, digital TVs, enterprise infrastructure and the Internet of Things.

Our innovative technology is licensed by ARM Partners who have shipped more than 75 billion System on Chip (SoCs) containing our intellectual property. Together with our Connected Community, we are breaking down barriers to innovation for developers, designers and engineers, ensuring a fast, reliable route to market for leading electronics companies. Learn more and join the conversation at http://community.arm.com.

About UMC

UMC (NYSE: UMC, TWSE: 2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that provides advanced technology and manufacturing for applications spanning every major sector of the IC industry. UMC's robust foundry solutions allow chip designers to leverage the company's leading-edge processes, which include 28nm poly-SiON and gate-last High-K/Metal Gate technology, mixed signal/RFCMOS, and a wide range of specialty technologies. Production is supported through 10 wafer manufacturing facilities that include two advanced 300mm fabs; Fab 12A in Taiwan and Singapore-based Fab 12i. Fab 12A consists of Phases 1-4 which are in production for customer products down to 28nm. Construction is underway for Phases 5&6, with future plans for Phases 7&8. The company employs over 15,000 people worldwide and has offices in Taiwan, mainland China, Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com.