NEC Electronics And ARM Announce Long-Term Strategic Collaboration

NEC Electronics and ARM to co-develop and co-market next-generation multiprocessor-based CPU cores for home and automotive multimedia applications, and mobile handset markets

KAWASAKI, JAPAN AND CAMBRIDGE, UK — Oct. 20, 2003 – NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a global leader in the manufacture and sales of System LSI solutions, and ARM [(LSE: ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMHY)], the industry's leading provider of 16/32-bit embedded RISC microprocessor solutions, today announced a long-term strategic partnership.

The collaboration includes the co-development and marketing of a next-generation multiprocessor core based on Symmetric Multi-Processor (SMP)1 . SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processor) consists of identical processors connected symmetrically. The SMP Operating System automatically balances the processor loads by migrating tasks among processors, and achieves high-performance scalability with existing programs developed for non-multiprocessing system technology. The strategic collaboration is aimed at extending the two companies' businesses within application-rich domains by leveraging the broad range of software developed for the ARM® core family and the multiprocessing technology from NEC Electronics.

This agreement between the two companies underlines NEC Electronics' strategy to promote the multiprocessor core-based products, based on the high-performance, low-power ARM11™ microarchitecture for NEC Electronics' next-generation, high-volume products such as home and automotive multimedia applications, and mobile handsets.

The next-generation CPU core is a high-performance embedded multiprocessor applying a leading-edge parallel processing technology and delivering better power efficiency than conventional CPU cores. ARM and NEC Electronics will also jointly develop software for the next-generation CPU core.

"Our partnership with NEC Electronics is a very significant endorsement for the ARM architecture, and will further strengthen momentum for the ARM11 technology in NEC Electronics' key sectors of automotive and home multimedia, and wireless," said Warren East, CEO, ARM. "By collaborating with a global leader such as NEC Electronics, ARM is creating a new generation of high-performance solutions for media-rich consumer applications."

"We view this next-generation processor core as a key technology to expand the application-rich markets from car multimedia to mobile consumer," said Hirokazu Hashimoto, executive vice president, NEC Electronics Corporation. "The core will be a combination of NEC Electronics' multiprocessing technology and the ARM core architecture, which is widely deployed in various products including mobile handsets. The co-development and co-marketing by the two companies will greatly accelerate the introduction and promotion of this key innovative multiprocessor technology."

Under this agreement, NEC Electronics has licensed the ARM11 family as well as ARM966E-S™ core and the VFP9™ vector floating-point co-processor. The company has been an ARM Partner since 1995 with the ARM7TDMI® core license, and followed this in 2000 with a license for the ARM946E-S™ core for use in mobile handsets.

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-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 a volume RISC standard in such markets as portable communications, hand-held computing, multimedia digital consumer and embedded solutions. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com.

About NEC Electronics

NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) specializes in semiconductor products encompassing advanced technology solutions for the high-end computing and broadband networking markets, system solutions for the mobile handsets, PC peripherals, automotive and digital consumer markets, and platform solutions for a wide range of customer applications. NEC Electronics Corporation has 24 subsidiaries worldwide including NEC Electronics America, Inc. (www.necelam.com) and NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH (www.ee.nec.de). In addition to marketing, selling and supporting NEC Electronics products to customers in their respective regions, NEC Electronics America and NEC Electronics Europe also operate local manufacturing facilities in Roseville, California, and Ballivor, Ireland, respectively. Additionally, NEC Electronics America for North America and NEC Electronics Europe for Europe are the sales and marketing channels of NEC AM-LCD and PDP modules. For additional information about NEC Electronics worldwide, visit www.necel.com.

1. SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processor) consists of identical processors connected symmetrically. The SMP Operating System automatically balances the processor loads by migrating tasks among processors, and achieves high-performance scalability with existing programs developed for non-multiprocessing system

ARM and ARM7TDMI are registered trademarks of ARM Limited. ARM946E-S, ARM966E-S, ARM11 and VFP9 are trademarks of ARM Limited. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. "ARM" is used to represent ARM Holdings plc (LSE: ARM and Nasdaq: ARMHY); its operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM, INC.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Ltd; ARM France SAS; and ARM Consulting (Shanghai) Co.Ltd.; and ARM Belgium N.V.

NEC Electronics either a registered trademark or trademark of NEC Electronics Corporation in Japan and/or other countries.