ARC International plc Appointment of New Chief Executive

February 23, 2004 - The Board of Directors of ARC International plc (LSE:ARK), a world leader in user- customizable processors, peripheral IP, and development tools for System-on-Chip (SoC) design, and real-time operating systems for embedded control, today announces the appointment of Carl Schlachte as Chief Executive. He will assume his role with immediate effect and be based at the Company's San Jose, California headquarters.

As a result of today's announcement, Dr. Peter van Cuylenburg, Interim Chief Executive since December 2003, will resume his position as Non-Executive Chairman. Dr. van Cuylenburg commented:

'We are delighted that Carl has accepted the Board's offer to join ARC International as Chief Executive. He has an extensive background in the semiconductor IP and microprocessor businesses, through his experience at ARM and Motorola, as well as having been CEO of two fabless semiconductor companies. Carl's strong track record and industry knowledge will be instrumental in leading ARC in the implementation of its new strategic direction announced on February 4th of this year.'

Carl Schlachte, CEO of ARC commented: 'I share ARC's vision of the increasing importance of application-specific SoC design solutions and believe that the company's industry-leading new processor products position it strongly for success in this growing market.'

Carl Schlachte, 40, brings with him 20 years experience in the semiconductor industry. He joins ARC from Raza Microelectronics following its acquisition of Sandcraft, a fabless semiconductor provider of high performance microprocessors where Carl held the position of President and CEO. Prior to Sandcraft, Carl served as Chairman and CEO of BOPS Inc., a semiconductor company focused on the development of high-performance digital signal processing technologies.

Previously, Carl worked for ARM Holdings plc, where he held the positions of Vice President of North America and Embedded Business Development Manager. Carl also spent 11 years working for Motorola in the Semiconductor Products Sector where he held positions of increasing responsibility in the sales function. He holds a BS degree in Computer Science from Clemson University.

Supplementary Information:

There are no details required to be disclosed under Rule 16.4 of the Listing Rules of the UK Listing Authority.

About ARC

ARC International is a provider of uniquely optimized SoC solutions for exceptionally competitive markets. ARC's IP solutions consist of user-customizable 32-bit RISC/DSP processor cores with integrated development tools, peripherals and software. ARC solutions help companies develop application-specific SoCs that are differentiated and highly competitive for the wireless, multimedia and networking/storage markets.

ARC introduced the industry's first user- customizable 32-bit RISC/DSP processor core and the industry's first USB Hi-Speed On-The-Go IP. ARC's turnkey embedded solutions, combining the processor core with a real-time operating system, development tools and peripheral hardware and software IP, enable developers to optimise the design and performance of their applications. ARC also supplies embedded system software, consisting of MQX RTOS and various protocol stacks for a variety of embedded processors. By providing designers with a single source for all major embedded silicon and software IP building blocks, ARC dramatically reduces their number of suppliers, thereby reducing cost, reducing risk and reducing time-to-market.

ARC International employs approximately 180 people in research and development, sales and marketing offices across North America, Europe and Asia. Full details of the company's locations and other information are available on the company's website, http://www.arc.com .

ARC International is listed on the London Stock exchange as ARC International plc (LSE:ARK).

Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include, among others, market acceptance of the ARC technology; fluctuations in and unpredictability of the Company's quarterly results; general economic and business conditions; regulatory policies adopted by governmental authorities; assumptions regarding the Company's future business strategy; changes in technology; competition; ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; risks associated with the Company's international operations; and other uncertainties that are discussed in the 'Investment Considerations' section of the Company's listing particulars dated 28 September 2000 filed with the United Kingdom Listing Authority and the Registrar of Companies in England and Wales. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date such statement was first made. In view of the many applications in which its Licensees may use the ARC products, ARC cannot warrant that those applications do not infringe the patents of others. ARC strongly encourages its Licensees to become familiar with the policies governing the use and licensing of intellectual property established by any organization whose standards the Licensee wishes to follow, and to review the list most standards-promulgating organizations publish, of entities that claim to have patents relating to the relevant standards or underlying technology.

ARC, the ARC logo, ARCtangent, ARCangel, ARCompact, ARChitect, ARCform, CASSEIA, High C, High C/C++, SeeCode, MetaDeveloper, MetaWare, Precise Solution, Precise/BlazeNet, Precise/EDS, Precise/MFS, Precise/MQX, Precise/MQXsim, Precise/RTCS, Precise/RTCSsim are trademarks of ARC International. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders.