Stepmind Becomes First ARM ATAP Partner In France

Stepmind Becomes First ARM ATAP Partner In France
Stepmind to drive ARM Powered networking applications

CAMBRIDGE, UK and BOULOGNE, FRANCE - May 9, 2001 - ARM [(LSE:ARM); (Nasdaq:ARMHY)], the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions, and Stepmind SA, today announced that Stepmind has joined the ARM ATAP[tm] technology access program as the first French design partner. Under the terms of the agreement, Stepmind will provide design services for ARM Silicon and Systems Partners who are developing ARM® core-based products.

Stepmind has expertise in the ARM7[tm] and ARM 9[tm] microprocessor family design, within the wireless and the networking markets, together with strong digital and RF capabilities including encryption associated with wireless networking standards such as 802.11. Stepmind's design experience in the French and other markets will help drive ARM design activity and reduce time-to-market for its Partners in these regions.

"ARM has achieved considerable success in the wireless networking arena, in line with the growth of the 802.11 market which Cahners In-Stat Group predicts will reach 10 million installed units by the end of this year. Stepmind's expertise in RF and encryption will further strengthen our position in this area," said Eric Lalardie, Southern Europe regional manager, ARM. "Stepmind's ability to provide Partners and OEM customers with leading-edge design services and support will accelerate the time-to-market of leading-edge products, and help ARM to gain access to these markets in France and other countries."

"We have welcomed this opportunity to partner with ARM," said Alain Jolivet, Chairman and CEO of Stepmind. "ARM is the leading-edge embedded RISC technology for our applications and this partnership will strengthen our association with the world-wide leader in this key technology. It is a strong commitment for our customers and an important recognition of the quality of Stepmind's services."

In 2000, Stepmind became the first French customer to purchase ARM PrimeCell[tm] Peripherals and the ARM Micropack[tm] solution. ARM PrimeCell Peripherals are re-usable soft IP macrocells developed to enable the rapid assembly of system-on-chip (SoC) designs. The Micropack solution is a versatile toolkit aimed at enabling the successful creation of AMBA[tm] bus-based components and SoC designs.

About the ATAP Program
ATAP design partners must go through a strict qualification process to become an ARM Approved Design Center. This includes a design flow audit, training on implementing designs with ARM cores, tools, AMBA bus peripherals and development techniques. Each Design Center must demonstrate its own unique skills in specific technology domains, as well as market segment expertise. The ATAP program also provides additional benefits such as geographic and time-zone locality and local language support.

For more information on the ARM ATAP program, please email info@arm.com or visit the ARM website.
About ARM
ARM is the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions. The company licenses its high-performance, low-cost, power-efficient RISC processors, peripherals, and system-on-chip designs to leading international electronics companies. ARM also provides comprehensive support required in developing a complete system. ARM's microprocessor cores are rapidly becoming the volume RISC standard in such markets as portable communications, handheld computing, multimedia, digital consumer and embedded solutions. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com.

About Stepmind SA
Stepmind operates in the field of Wireless High Speed Data, offering RF, Analogue and Digital complex Systems on Chip Intellectual Property to OEM or Foundry customers. StepMind's offer starts from technology analysis and SoC integration consulting to complete design of mixed signal and RF ASIC.

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