Intel And ARM Agree To License Agreement

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 23, 1998 -- Intel Corporation today announced it has reached an agreement with Advanced RISC Machines (ARM), Cambridge, UK, to produce, sell and enhance the StrongARM® microprocessor family under license. The agreement includes a technology cross license between the companies. The agreement signals Intel's plans to continue support for the StrongARM family of high-performance, low-power microprocessors, as well as plans for future enhancements to the product. A final agreement between the companies is contingent upon U.S. Federal Trade Commission approval of Intel's proposed purchase of certain assets of Digital Equipment Corporation's semiconductor division.

"We believe the StrongARM processors have tremendous potential in the market. High-performance, low-power microprocessors are essential to the future of a variety of portable devices and other consumer electronics and embedded applications," said Ron Smith vice president and general manager of Intel's Computing Enhancement Group. "Once we obtain regulatory approval, our plan is to continue to enhance and improve the product. We also plan to grow the customer base as well as provide support for existing customers."

"Intel's continued support of the StrongARM-based microprocessors will give designers a clear path to developing even more advanced devices based on ARM's high-performance cores," said Tim O'Donnell of ARM's North American Operations. "The value of our StrongARM technology is important for the future of emerging markets. We are committed to ensuring that this technology will continue to be made available to customers worldwide."

Included in the agreement are the Digital SA-110, SA-1100 and SA-1500 microprocessors, and other future products under development such as the SA-1101 and SA-1501 ARM-designed companion chips that employ ARM's technology. These microprocessors offer clock speeds of up to 200 MHz while consuming less than 250 milliwatts of power, making them ideal for such applications as smart hand-held devices and Internet appliances.

The terms of the Intel/ARM agreement are confidential.

About ARM
ARM is a leader in microprocessor intellectual property. ARM designs and licenses fast, low-cost, power-efficient RISC processors and "system chip" solutions for embedded control, consumer/educational multimedia, DSP, and portable applications. ARM supports processor offering with development hardware and software and contract design services.

ARM licenses its technology to leading semiconductor, software, and OEM partners worldwide who focus on applications, design and manufacturing. Each partner offers unique ARM-related technologies and services, which, together satisfy a broad range of end user needs. Through this partnering, ARM is rapidly becoming the global volume RISC standard. ARM has offices in Cambridge and Maidenhead, UK; Los Gatos, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; Austin, Texas; Munich, Germany; Tokyo, Japan; and Seoul, Korea. For more information, visit the ARM website at www.arm.com.

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