MIPS Technologies Expands Asia/Pacific Focus to Capitalize on Global SoC Market Opportunities
Additional Resources in Japan Signal MIPS Technologies' Enhanced Commitment to Asia/Pacific Region
TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 17, 2002--
MIPS Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MIPS - news, MIPSB - news), a leading provider
of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital
consumer and network applications, today formally opened a new,
expanded sales, marketing and support office in Japan, signaling the
company's increased commitment to the growing Asia/Pacific
system-on-chip (SoC) marketplace. This move reinforces the already
strong MIPS® brand in Japan, which was established through early,
high-profile design wins with Sony and Nintendo a decade ago, and
rounds out the company's global sales and marketing focus on emerging
and established markets for next-generation microprocessor designs.
John Bourgoin, chairman and chief executive officer of MIPS
Technologies, led the opening ceremony, along with Kazufumi Nakagami,
business development director and country manager for Japan. They were
joined by senior executives from NEC, Synopsys and Toshiba Corp.,
among others.
The Japan market was an early adopter of MIPS Technologies
solutions, with MIPS-based(TM) technology being incorporated in a
broad array of low-power and high-performance embedded designs.
Leading semiconductor companies in Japan, such as NEC, Toshiba,
Philips, IDT and LSI Logic, have been licensing 32- and 64-bit MIPS
technology since the late 1980s to develop applications such as
digital consumer products, broadband communications and mobile
devices. Among the results are popular end products such as the
Nintendo® 64 game console, Sony's PlayStation® and PlayStation®
2 computer entertainment systems, the Sony Aibo(TM) entertainment
robot, digital set-top boxes, digital cameras and handheld PCs.
More recent design wins, a result of new products and increasing
support from field engineering, sales and marketing in MIPS
Technologies' Tokyo office, include development of the world's first
64-bit RISC processors for space applications, which will be deployed
in NASDA satellites. And Toshiba is developing MIPS32(TM)-based
devices for high-performance digital consumer and automotive
applications. Meanwhile, MIPS-based processors from NEC are powering
millions of interactive digital cable set-top boxes now being shipped
by Sony.
"Our success in Japan and around the world is due to our unique
business model that gives our customers more choice and more control
over their designs as well as access to the widest range of licensable
cores in the industry," said Bourgoin. "MIPS Technologies' network of
MIPS community members enables complete system-on-chip solutions
providing, apart from MIPS-based hardware, the design services, tool
chains, manufacturing support, and software applications. The results
are leading-edge products that meet demanding requirements in highly
competitive markets."
Gartner/Dataquest forecasts strong worldwide growth for the
semiconductor IP (intellectual property) market, which is growing at a
rate well above the overall semiconductor market. In 2000, it
increased 40 percent to $690 million, and Japan was the second largest
consumer of semiconductor IP after North America.
"By leveraging Synopsys' recently-announced DesignWare Star IP
program, MIPS Technologies is optimizing next-generation SoC design
for Japanese customers by providing IP that is easy to access,
evaluate and implement," said Kimio Fujii, president of Synopsys'
Japan affiliate, Nihon Synopsys KK. "MIPS Technologies' long history
of delivering innovative products has led to their expanded presence
and continued success within the Japanese marketplace."
"NEC is very pleased with MIPS Technologies' new office opening in
Japan," said Yuichi Kawakami, general manager of the Microcomputer
Division, NEC Electron Devices, NEC Corp. "In addition to our
long-term partnership with MIPS Technologies for leading-edge 64-bit
microprocessors based on the industry-standard MIPS architecture, we
look forward to expanding our business activity to include
system-on-chip solutions as well as CPUs."
"We welcome the opening of the new MIPS Technologies sales and
support office. The move is in perfect accordance with Toshiba's
MIPS-based SOC strategy," said Toshinori Moriyasu, general manager of
Toshiba Corp.'s semiconductor company, microprocessor division.
"Together with the team of professionals at MIPS Technologies B.V., we
can enhance our support efforts and help our customers realize
differentiated system solutions."
"For more than a decade, Japanese semiconductor companies have
valued our flexible technology and business model, such as
synthesizable cores and the ISA licensing option, to create innovative
products based on 32- and 64-bit MIPS technology," said George
Nakagami, Japan country manager for MIPS Technologies B.V. "We look
forward to improving upon our strong track record and capitalizing on
the opportunities that lie ahead in Japan."
MIPS Technologies B.V. is located at Landic Toranomon Building No.
2, 3-7-8 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001. Phone: +81 (3)
5733-9544.
About MIPS Technologies
MIPS Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of industry-standard
processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and network
applications. The company drives the broadest architectural alliance
that is delivering 32- and 64-bit embedded RISC solutions. The company
licenses its intellectual property to semiconductor companies, ASIC
developers and system OEMs. MIPS Technologies and its licensees offer
the widest range of robust, scalable processors in standard, custom,
semi-custom and application-specific products. The company is based in
Mountain View, Calif., and can be reached at 650/567-5000 or
www.mips.com.
Note to Editors: MIPS® is a registered trademark and MIPS64(TM),
MIPS32(TM) and MIPS-based(TM) are trademarks of MIPS Technologies,
Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks
referred to herein are the property of their respective owners.
Contact:
MIPS Technologies, Inc.
Lee Garvin Flanagin, 650/567-5180 (U.S. Media)
flanagin@mips.com
or
The Hoffman Agency
Kaori Saito, +81 (3) 3916-2490 (Japan Media)
ksaito@hoffman.com
