Novocell Semiconductor and ChipStart Announce Renewal of Global Sales Representation Agreement

ChipStart to continue to represent Novocell's Smartbit-based one-time programmable non-volatile memory IP to fabless semiconductor industry

May 29, 2012 -- Novocell Semiconductor, Inc., the leading innovator in high reliability one-time programmable (OTP) antifuse non-volatile memory (NVM), has announced the renewal of their global sales representation agreement with ChipStart, the industry’s trusted source for semiconductor IP. ChipStart was selected based on the companies’ mutual successful experience licensing Novocell’s industry leading, Smartbit-based OTP IP and longstanding solid relationship. Under the agreement, ChipStart will continue to provide value-added representation and their decades of experience assisting fabless semiconductor firms to aid in driving the continued growth in the use of Novocell IP globally.

“The collective experience of the ChipStart team is incredibly valuable as we move forward in implementing our 2012 sales plan,” stated Walt Novosel, President and CTO, “ChipStart is ideally positioned to drive license sales of our non-volatile memory IP products, with offices across North American, Europe, Japan, Israel and China, and an experienced team of semiconductor professionals who understand the industry and players. There is no more qualified or experienced partner.”

Howard Pakosh, Chief Executive Officer for ChipStart noted, “Novocell Semiconductor has an enviable tradition of technological innovation in the NVM category. Novocell’s high reliability, differentiated antifuse OTP NVM IP and end-to-end engineering support is ideally suited to address the time-to-market requirements, performance demands, and cost sensitivity pressures affecting the fabless and SoC industry segments today.”

Founded over ten years ago and catering to a demanding array of designers seeking the highest quality and reliability in their NVM, Novocell is seeing growing popularity as cost pressures on SoC firms lead them to find alternatives to more conventional OTP memory technologies requiring additional process and programming error correction steps, or with shorter data storage lifetimes. The uncontested SmartBit technology features a unique High Voltage Generator that eliminates the need for a area-consuming external charge pump, requiring only the standard process I/O voltage to achieve oxide breakdown. The IP requires only standard CMOS processes, with no additional masks or post-process steps, and programs each bit dynamically, monitoring the programming process and triggering a confirmation DONE signal, providing customers unequalled assurance that the programmed data is secure.

About Novocell Semiconductor, Inc.

Novocell Semiconductor, Inc. specializes in developing and delivering advanced non-volatile memory intellectual property (IP) to the semiconductor industry. Novocell is the only provider of NovoBytes MTP, the first OTP/multi-time write hybrid antifuse memory IP, and NovoHD, the highest density antifuse OTP NVM available. Novobits, Novobits SPX, NovoBytes, NovoBytes MTP, and NovoHD are the only antifuse memories proven to have zero tail bit failures within consumer, automotive, and military spec operating ranges and 30 years of data retention. The technology is available and scalable from 350nm to 45nm and beyond. For more information, please visit: http://www.novocellsemi.com.

About ChipStart

ChipStart is a semiconductor intellectual property solution company based in Palo Alto, California. ChipStart provides sales, marketing, and support engagement solutions for companies that commerce third party semiconductor intellectual property, high quality pre-verified subsystem solutions, and support design services for ASIC and fabless semiconductor companies. ChipStart solutions are used as critical components of communications, consumer and computing products including switches, routers, modems, cellular phones, set-top boxes, HDTVs, DVD players and PCs. For more information, please visit: http://www.chip-start.com.