Accent announces extensive investment in ARM technology

• Gives Accent customers significantly improved, more cost-efficient and flexible access to ARM technology 
• Accent to focus on using ARM processors for new design projects for fabless customers requiring licence access through Accent

Milan, Italy – January 24, 2007 -- Accent S.p.A, the global electronic design realisation solutions provider, has announced that it has entered into a technology licensing agreement with ARM [(LSE: ARM; Nasdaq: ARMHY)] for the ARM7TMI-S™, the ARM926EJ-S™ and the ARM1136J-S™ synthesisable processors, as well as a range of PrimeCell® peripherals and Physical IP technology.  The agreement will see Accent focus on the use of ARM® processors for all new design projects realised for fabless and chipless IC customers requiring a core licence through Accent.
 
Accent’s decision to invest in an ARM technology licence is a major move for the company that is intended to provide its customers with significantly improved, more cost-efficient and flexible access to ARM technology.  The decision further strengthens its SoC design realisation capability especially with regard to consumer, wireless, automotive and industrial applications.
 
“Our objective in concluding the agreement with ARM has been to provide our customers with the utmost flexibility in terms of implementing their design requirements,” said Antonio Grassi, Worldwide Director of Marketing & Sales for Accent’s ARM technology-based solutions.  “Our agreement with ARM is amongst the most open they offer and consequently gives our customers unprecedented benefits in terms of design implementation.”
 
Two of the processors have been licensed on a multi-year basis for unlimited implementations, giving Accent unparalleled flexibility with regard to the terms of business it can offer its customers.  Also, all of the synthesisable processors have been licensed for implementation in any foundry, including Chartered and SMIC as well as TSMC, and they can be implemented in any process.  This enables customers to access their foundry of choice and, as the cores are not process-limited, customer designs are essentially future-proofed.  Furthermore, they can also be easily optimised and implemented for particular design requirements such as low power or high speed.
 
The agreement with ARM reinforces Accent’s extensive experience in providing ARM technology-based design realisation solutions, which stretches back to 1998 and achieves a high level of right-first-time design solutions as well as minimising customers’ time-to-market cycles.  Accent has already realised more than 25 ARM technology-based SoCs from architecture to chip including low-level driver design, OS porting and device bring-up in Accent’s labs.  Accent has also implemented many hard macros of ARM soft cores from RTL to GDSII to meet customer specific requirements.  Its design realisation projects have given Accent a deep knowledge and understanding of the AMBA® interconnect technology, PrimeCell peripherals and ARM development and validation tools.
 
In addition, the agreement with ARM complements Accent’s existing platform-based approach to design realisation using ARM technology which has again been implemented to create first-time silicon success and improved time-to-market.
 
About Accent
 
Founded in 1993, Accent draws upon over 1,000 man years of product design and realisation experience that has resulted in the implementation of over 300 designs with an impressive track record of 98% first-time working silicon and 50 million semiconductor parts manufactured for clients.  Accent provides a full turnkey solution for microelectronics product design and realisation from concept definition through complex architecture and design implementation to supply chain management for volume production.  Accent has access to world class pure play foundry partners including TSMC, Chartered and SMIC and is partnering with IDMs like STMicroelectronics and Infineon.  Drawing on its various design platforms, including ARM and sensor-based platforms, Accent works closely with IDMs OEMs, fabless and chipless companies alike as well as increasingly with non-electronics companies that need access to electronics expertise as part of their product innovation processes.  Today, Accent boasts a wide range of analog, RF, digital, low-power design, SoC and embedded processor expertise in a broad range of markets from telecommunications to multimedia, from automotive to biomedical and from industrial control to home automation.  For more information about Accent, please visit www.accent.it.