Tensilica Concludes Wide-Ranging Licensing and Joint Development Pact With Mindspeed and Conexant

The multi-year pact includes the licensing of Tensilica's Xtensa™ III and the Vectra™ DSP engine, as well as a bilateral patent sharing agreement. Additionally, Tensilica will have rights to sell next generation DSP technology and application platforms developed as a consequence of the joint project.
 

Raouf Halim, who will become CEO of Mindspeed Technologies upon separation from Conexant, said, "We are very pleased to link with Tensilica in this enterprise that will lead to the design and development of new application platforms and DSP implementations.  Tensilica's advanced compiler technology will allow us to continue to deliver high density platforms and products, enabling us to ‘Build it First'."

Chris Rowen, Tensilica's president and chief executive officer said, "Conexant is one of the industry's preeminent developers of application-specific DSP, so the alignment of their DSP and applications expertise with our Xtensa and Vectra technology will accelerate a broad range of new Conexant and Mindspeed™ platforms for fast-growing communications markets.  This close joint effort is advancing the state-of-the-art in system-on-chip solutions."

About Conexant Systems, Inc.

Conexant Systems, Inc. is a worldwide leader in semiconductor system solutions for communications applications.  Conexant leverages its expertise in mixed signal processing to deliver integrated systems and semiconductor products through two separate businesses: Mindspeed Technologies and Conexant.

Mindspeed Technologies is focused on Internet infrastructure products including WAN transport, multiservice access and broadband access for applications that extend from the

edge of the Internet all the way to its optical core. Conexant's personal networking business is focused on digital infotainment, personal imaging, wireless communications and personal computing products that are used in mobile communications and the broadband digital home.

Conexant is headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif., and delivered revenues of $2.1 billion for fiscal 2000.  The company is a member of the S&P 500 and NASDAQ-100 indices.  To learn more, visit us at www.conexant.com or www.mindspeed.com.
 

About Tensilica

Tensilica was founded in July 1997 to address the fast-growing market for configurable and extensible microprocessor cores and associated software development tools for high volume, embedded systems. Using the company's proprietary Xtensa Processor Generator, system-on- chip (SOC) designers can develop a processor subsystem hardware design and a complete software development tool environment tailored to their specific requirements in hours.

Tensilica's solutions provide a proven, easy-to-use, methodology that enables designers to achieve optimum application performance in minimum design time. The Company has over 130 engineers engaged in research, development, and customer support from its offices in Santa Clara, California; Burlington, Massachusetts; Princeton, NJ; Houston, Texas; Oxford, U.K.; Stockholm, Sweden; Taipei, Taiwan R.O.C.; and Yokohama, Japan. Tensilica is headquartered in Santa Clara, California (95054) at 3255-6 Scott Boulevard, and can be reached at (408) 986-8000 or via www.tensilica.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains statements relating to future results of Conexant (including certain projections and business trends) that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: maintaining a consistent and reliable source of energy; global economic and market conditions, such as the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry and the markets addressed by the company's and its customers' products; demand for and market acceptance of new and existing products; successful development of new products; the timing of new product introductions; the availability and extent of utilization of manufacturing capacity; pricing pressures and other competitive factors; changes in product mix; fluctuations in manufacturing yields; product obsolescence; the ability to develop and implement new technologies and to obtain protection for the related intellectual property; the successful separation of the Company's Internet infrastructure and personal networking businesses; the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; labor relations of the company, its customers and suppliers; and the uncertainties of litigation, as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.