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SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 15, 2000--Tensilica® Inc., the Santa Clara-based provider of application-specific configurable processor technology, announced today that the joint Media-Centric Low-Power LSI Design Project at Osaka University and Kyoto University has entered into a license agreement with the company for its Xtensa(TM) processor technology. The project uses the Tensilica's processor generator for the development of a variety of advanced video and audio processing systems for mobile systems applications.

Professor Isao Shirakawa,, a member of University Council of Osaka University and the director of the project, said, ``We selected the Xtensa architecture because of its flexibility and extensibility. For mobile applications, media processing large scale integrated circuits must move to a new system-on-chip (SOC) stage in which embedded processors and dedicated functional units are integrated in a single chip and are harmonized to work efficiently. So far we have developed different architectures dedicated to audio and video processing. Utilizing the Xtensa core, these research results can contribute much toward working out viable SOC solutions.''

Bernie Rosenthal, Tensilica's vice president of Marketing and Business Development, said ``We are delighted to have been selected by Osaka and Kyoto Universities for their cutting edge project. It is clear that the flexibility to add instructions and functional units to our processor will greatly contribute to the joint Osaka and Kyoto University project's success.''

    About the Joint Osaka/Kyoto University Media-Centric Low-Power LSI
    Design Project

The Media-Centric Low-Power LSI Design Project has been jointly initiated by Osaka University and Kyoto University. The research focus is on the system level optimization of audiovisual signal processing large scale ICs for use in a mobile environment. Exploration of novel algorithms, architectures, and system organization are the important missions of the project. This project is partly supported by a grant for Scientific Research on Priority Areas by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture.

About Tensilica

Tensilica was founded in July 1997 to address the fast-growing market for application-specific microprocessor cores and software development tools for high volume, embedded systems. Using the company's proprietary Xtensa Processor Generator, system-on-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 100 engineers engaged in research, development, and customer support from its offices in Santa Clara, California, Burlington, Massachusetts, Princeton, NJ, Houston, Texas, Oxford, U.K. and Yokohama, Japan.

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

Notes to Editors: ``Tensilica'' is a registered trademark and ``Xtensa'' is a trademark belonging to Tensilica Inc.

-- Tensilica's announced licensees are, in alphabetical order,

    --  Berkeley Wireless Research Center
    --  Cisco Systems
    --  Fujitsu Limited
    --  Galileo Technology
    --  NEC Corporation
    --  NTT
    --  ONEX Communications
    --  Osaka and Kyoto Universities
    --  TranSwitch Corporation
    --  ZiLOG

-- Visit Tensilica at MST, Booth Number B-22, Tokyo, Japan, November

15 -- 17, 2000.

-- Visit Tensilica at Electronica, Hall 5A, Booth Number 175, Munich,

Germany, November 20 -- 24, 2000.

     Tensilica Inc.
     Bernie Rosenthal, 408/327-7302
     Tensilica K.K., Japan
     Masumi Takahashi, 81-45-541-5496
            or
     Leapfrog Group
     Kim Alfaro, 415/563-4769
            or
     Kyoto University
     Takao Onoye, 81-75-753-4803