New MIPS-Based SOC from ADMtek of Taiwan Targets Burgeoning Worldwide Home Gateway Market; ADM5120 Chip is the First MIPS-Based SOC Developed by a Taiwan IC Design Company
TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 8, 2003--MIPS Technologies,
Inc. (Nasdaq:MIPS)(Nasdaq:MIPSB), a leading provider of
industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital
consumer and business applications, today announced that ADMtek Inc.,
a leading Taiwanese fabless semiconductor company and licensee since
September, 2002, has successfully taped out its MIPS-based(TM) SOC
design that is targeted to the worldwide home gateway market. The
announcement was made by ADMtek's CEO at an event celebrating MIPS
Technologies one-year anniversary of entering the Taiwan marketplace
(see companion announcements dated April 8, 2003).
One of Taiwan's leading fabless vendors, ADMtek has more than 50
percent market share of the home gateway market. This MIPS-based chip,
implemented in a 0.18 micron process by Chartered Semiconductor,
integrates a MIPS32(TM) 4Kc(TM) core with a six port switch engine,
PHY, USB 1.1 host, and a PCI bridge. Other features include NAND flash
and NOR flash supports, which help to reduce system cost. Other
applications for the ADM5120 chip include networking security devices,
firewalls, VPN routers and wireless networking gateways.
The networking chip market grew rapidly in 2002. According to the
Institute for Information Industry in Taiwan, total shipments of
switch-related chips are expected to grow by 17 percent in the first
quarter of 2003. The growth in the home gateway market is due, in
part, to leading Taiwan fabless semiconductor companies, such as
ADMtek, that are expanding the technology's appeal to consumers with
lower-cost solutions.
"Taiwanese semiconductor companies need to leverage
industry-standard technology, such as the MIPS architecture, in order
to reduce costs and increase competitiveness to compete in the global
marketplace with leading IC suppliers," said Tony Chang, president of
ADMtek. "When combined with the MIPS architecture's broad ecosystem of
third party software tools and optimized peripheral IP, we are
confident our solution will become the first choice for OEMs looking
for low-cost, highly competitive SOCs."
"The low power consumption and high performance features of MIPS
cores are ideal for networking applications that demand high
integration, high media processing and high data bandwidth," said Jack
Browne, vice president of worldwide sales at MIPS Technologies. "With
the ADM5120 chip, ADMtek joins other MIPS licensees who have taped out
more than a hundred 32-bit MIPS chips over the years. The result is
MIPS-based solutions are gaining market share in numerous embedded
market segments."
About ADMtek
ADMtek Incorporated is a fables integrated circuits (IC) design
company specialized in networking and communication fields. ADMtek
designs, develops, and supplies ICs that meet customers' needs, and
offers complete service to worldwide customers. There are around 100
employees in ADMtek. The headquarter of ADMtek is located in Hsinchu
Science-Based Industrial Park, the "Silicon Valley" of Taiwan. To
provide service to international customers, it also has an office in
San Jose, California. For more information, please visit
www.admtek.com.tw.
About MIPS Technologies
MIPS Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of industry standard
processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and business
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 in the United
States and other countries, and MIPS-based, MIPS32 and 4Kc are
trademarks of MIPS Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks referred to
herein are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: MIPS Technologies, Inc.
Lee Garvin Flanagin, 650/567-5180
flanagin@mips.com
