MIPS Technologies Launches China Operations

MIPS® Architecture and Ecosystem Companies to Assist in Developing World-Class Digital Consumer Products

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, and BEIJING, CHINA, March 1, 2005 - MIPS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:MIPS) a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and business applications, today announced its entry into the China market with the establishment of a local subsidiary, MIPS Technologies (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. The new wholly-owned subsidiary includes an R&D center (see separate release) as well as sales and marketing operations.

"The electronics industry in China is going through a rapid phase of growth and development as Chinese systems, software and semiconductor companies respond to the explosive market opportunity in China," said John Bourgoin, President and CEO of MIPS Technologies. "MIPS Technologies is honored to play a role in assisting this development. Our expansion in China is an important step for us, and we believe that this will bring valuable products and solutions, technology and know-how to our customers in China."

"MIPS Technologies has signed more than 150 licenses with more than 100 customers, including world-class semiconductor companies. The companies in our Ecosystem include the cream of the embedded software world," said James Mac Hale, MIPS Technologies' Vice President, Asia Operations. "What MIPS Technologies, its licensees and these strategic partners offer are technology platforms enabling Chinese system vendors to develop feature-rich products for the domestic and export markets. Key events such as the Beijing 2008 Olympics are going to drive a wave of new product development in areas such as Digital TV and communications. Our mission is to make the MIPS technology widely available, well supported and easily adopted by Chinese design engineers."

MIPS Technologies designs and licenses high-performance 32- and 64-bit architectures and cores, which offer smaller dimensions and greater energy efficiency in embedded processors. MIPS-Based™ platforms are utilized in such high-growth embedded markets as digital set-top boxes, digital televisions, DVD recordable devices, broadband access devices, digital cameras, laser printers and network routers.

The MIPS Ecosystem consists of hardware and software companies who collectively offer 164 products that support development on MIPS-Based platforms. These products consist of applications and libraries; compilers; EJTAG/ICE; evaluation boards; hardware support components; Java technology; logic analyzers; operating systems; silicon intellectual property (IP); simulation tools and models; software development tools; and MIPS-specific design services. MIPS Technologies' licensees have immediate access to these Ecosystem tools, which enable shorter time to market.

"The MIPS architecture is already recognized as the de facto standard in much of the world," said Mr. Kin S. Lai, MIPS Technologies' Chief Representative for China. "Through the resources of our strategic partners and our R&D center, MIPS Technologies will enable domestic semiconductor companies to develop world-class SoC products. Our company has started to provide training and education programs to introduce the world's leading RISC architecture to engineering students across China. MIPS Technologies will offer our microprocessor IP products optimized for manufacturing foundries local to China to further stimulate innovation in the China semiconductor industry."

The MIPS® architecture was originally developed over 20 years ago at Stanford University by Dr. John Hennessy, who described it in his classic book Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach. The architecture has evolved over time into the leading high-end processor architecture for embedded applications. A large part of the MIPS Technologies' value proposition is its extensive network of Ecosystem companies, who contribute hardware, software and other tools that support development on the MIPS platform. The ready availability of software tools greatly cuts the time and expense of bringing sophisticated design quickly to market.

About MIPS Technologies
MIPS Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for digital consumer and business applications. The company drives the broadest architectural alliance that is delivering 32- and 64-bit embedded RISC solutions. The company licenses its intellectual property to semiconductor companies, ASIC developers and system OEMs. MIPS Technologies and its licensees offer the widest range of robust, scalable processors in standard, custom, semi-custom and application-specific products. The company is based in Mountain View, Calif., and can be reached at +1 (650) 567-5000 or www.mips.com. Visit our China web site at www.mips.com.cn.