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YOKOHAMA, Japan & SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- April 9, 2001--Tensilica® Inc., the Santa Clara, California (USA) provider of configurable processor technology, today announced that NEC Solutions (NASDAQ: NIPNY), one of three of NEC's In-house Companies, had become the company's latest licensee of its Xtensa(TM) technology. The new pact is the company's second agreement with NEC Corporation, one of the world's technology leaders.

According to NEC, Xtensa cores will be employed in new local area network (LAN) systems. Mr. Teruo Nakamura, General manager of the LAN Division of NEC Solutions, said, ``We have evaluated a number of emerging processor technologies, and we decided upon Tensilica's configurable Xtensa architecture for future LAN system applications due to its proven capabilities. Specifically, this technology will allow us to craft multiple processors for LAN system-on-chip use that are absolutely tailored to the application. Even better, we believe that Xtensa-based SOCs will accelerate our time to market substantially.''

Bernie Rosenthal, Tensilica's vice president of marketing and business development said, ``We're delighted to welcome the LAN Division of NEC Solutions to our growing family of licensees. We are confident that the combination of NEC/LAN's engineering know-how coupled with our technology will result in very successful LAN system implementations.''

About NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY; FTSE: 6701q.l) (TSE: 6701) is a leading provider of Internet solutions, dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of its customers in the key computer, network and electron device fields through its three market-focused in-house companies: NEC Solutions, NEC Networks and NEC Electron Devices. NEC Corporation, with its in-house companies, employs more than 150,000 people worldwide and saw net sales of 4,991 billion Yen (approx. US$48 billion) in fiscal year 1999-2000. For further information, please visit the NEC home page at: http://www.nec.com.

About Tensilica

Tensilica was founded in July 1997 to address the fast-growing market for configurable processors 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 130 engineers engaged in research, development, and customer support from its offices in Santa Clara, California; Burlington, Massachusetts; Princeton, NJ; Houston, Texas; Oxford, U.K.; Stockholm, Sweden; Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.; 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 www.tensilica.com on the World Wide Web.

Editors' Notes:

• ``Tensilica'' is a registered trademark and ``Xtensa'' is a trademark belonging to Tensilica Inc. NEC is a registered trademark of NEC Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other registered trademarks or trademarks are property of their respective owners.
• Tensilica's announced licensees are, in alphabetical order, Berkeley Wireless Research Center, Cisco Systems, Fujitsu Limited, Galileo Technology, National Semiconductor, NEC Networks, NEC Solutions, NTT, ONEX Communications, TranSwitch Corporation and ZiLOG.
• Visit Tensilica at Embedded Systems Conference - Spring, Booth Number 2502, April 9 - 13, 2001, Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco.
• Visit Tensilica at ESS 2001, Booth Number 320, May 16 - 17, 2001, ExCeL, London, UK.

Analyst Quotes Regarding Conexant/Mindspeed - NEC Solutions Announcements:

Will Strauss, President of Research firm Forward Concepts, said, ``These new Tensilica wins are truly significant. Among other things, they prove the point that configurable processors are a lot more than an intriguing engineering development. It's become a mainstream technology now, and seems to represent the solution to a lot of problems. I'm particularly impressed with Conexant's validation of the company's configurable DSP engine.''

Forward Concepts, 1575 West University Drive, No. 111, Tempe, AZ 85281. Tel: 480/968 3759 Email: wis@fwdconcepts.com www.forwardconcepts.com.

Linley Gwennap, Principal Analyst of The Linley Group, said, ``The power of Tensilica's Xtensa technology, evidenced in the recently disclosed EEMBC scores, continues to attract real customers. These NEC Solutions and Conexant Technologies licensing agreements demonstrate the growing momentum behind the company's approach to configuring custom processors for embedded applications.''

The Linley Group, 355 Chesley Avenue, Mt. View, CA 94040. Tel: 650/962 9380 Email: info@linleygroup.com www.linleygroup.com.

Steve Leibson, VP, Editorial Director, and Chief Analyst at MicroDesign Resources, said, ``These agreements show that Tensilica's bandwagon continues to gain momentum in a market hungry for deeply embedded processors that provide high performance at reasonable power levels.''

MicroDesign Resources, 298 S. Sunnyvale Ave., No. 101, Sunnyvale, CA 94086. Tel: 408/328-3916 Email: sleibson@mdr.cahners.com www.mdronline.com.

Comments may also be provided by contacting the following Gartner/Dataquest Analyst:

Tom Starnes, Chief Analyst, Embedded Microprocessors, Microcontrollers and Digital Signal Processors, 9020-I N. Capital of Texas Highway, Suite 220-Y, Austin, TX 78759-7206. Tel: 512/345-3696 Email: tom.starnes@gartner.com

     Tensilica, Inc.
     Kim Alfaro, 408/566 1705
     kim@tensilica.com
     or
     Tensilica K.K.
     Masumi Takahashi, +81-45-477-3373
     mastaka@tensilica.com
     or
     K Agency, Inc.
     Kunio Komatsu, +81-3-3526-3838
     komatsu@kagency.co.jp