DUBLIN, U.K. and SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 5, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- CEVA, Inc. (Nasdaq:CEVA) (LSE:CVA), the industry's leading licensor of Digital Signal Processor (DSP) cores and solutions to the semiconductor industry, today announced the establishment of a foundry program with UMC (NYSE:UMC), a leading global semiconductor foundry. The program will enable fabless semiconductor companies in emerging markets to quickly and cost-effectively deliver products that feature CEVA-Teak and CEVA-TeakLite DSP cores for applications ranging from wireless handsets to digital multimedia products. The agreement will allow fabless companies to license the CEVA-Teak and CEVA-TeakLite, the number one licensed DSPs, and manufacture system-on-chip (SoC) solutions at UMC. UMC will port the CEVA DSPs to its processes, thereby reducing development costs and accelerating time to market for their fabless semiconductor customers incorporating IP cores into their designs.
UMC's participation in the foundry program reflects the rapid growth in the DSP market. Electronics market research firm Forward Concepts forecasts 20 percent annual DSP growth by the end of 2003 and 25 percent in 2004. Most of the growth is coming from the Far East, positioning UMC to capture significant new business from its large base of Asian customers through the CEVA alliance.
"With the rising demand for DSP core solutions, we are pleased to partner with CEVA to offer their innovative DSP solutions to our foundry customers," said Patrick Lin, Chief SOC Architect at UMC. "This relationship will allow us to expand our IP offerings in this important market with proven technology from a company with more than a decade of experience in DSP intellectual property solutions."
"This foundry program will broaden our market by enabling us to forge relationships with fabless companies that are looking for fast time-to-market on a proven process," said Derek Meyer, Vice President of Business Development for CEVA. "Teaming with a leading semiconductor foundry like UMC to make our CEVA-Teak and CEVA-TeakLite DSPs available under a foundry license promises to broaden our penetration in cellular markets, and expand in the emerging arena of digital multimedia applications."
Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in the foregoing announcement are forward looking within the meaning of the U.S. Federal Securities laws, including statements about future outsourcing, wafer capacity, technologies, business relationships and market conditions. Investors are cautioned that actual events and results could differ materially from these statements as a result of a variety of factors, including conditions in the overall semiconductor market and economy; acceptance and demand for products; and technological and development risks.
About UMC
UMC (NYSE:UMC) (TSE:2303) is a leading global semiconductor foundry that manufactures advanced process ICs for applications spanning every major sector of the semiconductor industry. UMC delivers cutting-edge foundry technologies that enable sophisticated system-on-chip (SOC) designs, including 90nm copper, 0.13um copper, embedded DRAM, and mixed signal/RFCMOS. UMC is also a leader in 300mm manufacturing; Fab 12A in Taiwan is currently in volume production for a variety of customer products, while Singapore-based UMCi is now in pilot production. UMC employs over 8,500 people worldwide and has offices in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Europe, and the United States. UMC can be found on the web at http://www.umc.com.
About CEVA, Inc.
Headquartered in San Jose, CEVA (Nasdaq0:CEVA) (LSE:CVA) is the leading licensor of DSP cores and integrated applications to the semiconductor industry. CEVA markets a portfolio of DSP IP in three integrated areas: CEVA DSPs, CEVA-Xpert Open Framework Environment, and CEVA-Xpert Applications, all supported by CEVA Xpert-Integration services. CEVA's products are used in over 60 million devices each year. The company was formerly known as ParthusCeva, Inc. For more information, visit www.ceva-dsp.com.