Phison Licenses Tensilica's Dataplane Processor (DPU) for NAND Flash Memory Controllers and SSD Applications

Update: Cadence Completes Acquisition of Tensilica (Apr 24, 2013)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – February 5, 2013 –Tensilica, Inc. today announced that Phison Electronics Corp., the Taiwanese global market leader in flash and USB controller technology, has licensed Tensilica's Xtensa dataplane processor unit (DPU).

From high-end, multi-processor SSDs to single-processor consumer flash, the Xtensa DPU combines both signal processing and control, scales efficiently across multiple product lines and delivers 10x to 100x performance efficiency required for manufacturers to produce flexible and differentiated products.

“Tensilica’s DPUs allow us to create highly competitive products that are optimized for our unique flash architectures without compromising the implementation or requiring us to create, verify and maintain algorithm-acceleration offload engines to supplement an inflexible fixed-function control CPU,” said Aw Yong, President at Phison. “Moreover, Tensilica’s DPUs have special I/Os that speed data in and out of the processing engine, bypassing the system bus, speeding overall system performance.”

“We’re pleased to welcome Phison, a leader in NAND flash memory and SSD controllers, as the latest customer to realize the benefits of our Xtensa DPUs for storage applications,” stated Steve Roddy, Tensilica's vice president of marketing and business development. “In flash controllers, sufficient I/O bandwidth is critical in providing a balanced and efficient solution. Processor performance alone is not enough if it stalls waiting for data. With virtually unlimited I/O bandwidth, custom data types up to 1024 bit wide and an instruction set easily extended to match the needs of each application, our customers are free to create exactly what they need for programmable signal processing and control.”

About Phison Electronics Corp.

Phison is a market leader in NAND Flash controllers and applications including USB, SD, eMMC, PATA and SATA. Phison is a total solution provider with expertise in IC design, product development and manufacturing and offers system and OEM services for major retail brand names. Additional information about Phison is available at www.phison.com.

About Tensilica

Tensilica, Inc. is the leader in dataplane processor IP cores, with almost 200 licensees.

Dataplane processors (DPUs) combine the best capabilities of DSPs and CPUs while delivering 10 to 100x the performance because they can be optimized using Tensilica’s automated design tools to meet specific and demanding signal processing performance targets. Tensilica’s DPUs power SOC designs at system OEMs and seven out of the top 10 semiconductor companies for designs in mobile wireless, telecom and network infrastructure, computing and storage, and home and auto entertainment. Tensilica offers standard cores and hardware/software solutions that can be used as is or easily customized by semiconductor companies and OEMs for added differentiation. For more information on Tensilica’s patented, benchmark-proven DPUs visit www.tensilica.com.