ALPS Licenses Tensilica's Xtensa Processor for Image Processing

Update: Cadence Completes Acquisition of Tensilica (Apr 24, 2013)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. USA and IWAKI, JAPAN – April 26, 2004 – Tensilica®, Inc. today announced that the Peripheral Products Division of ALPS Electronic Co., Ltd. has licensed the Xtensa® processor to improve performance and reduce power in image processing applications.

“We are very impressed with the capabilities of the Xtensa processor,” stated Mr. Hiroshi Izumi, Chief Engineer, Peripheral Products Division, ALPS Electronic Co., Ltd. “We have set very high performance goals that can’t be met through the use of standard embedded processors. We believe we can make those goals by customizing the Xtensa processor for our applications.”

“We are delighted that ALPS has picked our Xtensa processor for this high-volume imaging application,” said Bernie Rosenthal, Tensilica’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales. “By customizing the Xtensa processor to their exact algorithms, ALPS will get the performance they need to bring highly competitive new products to market very quickly.”

The Xtensa configurable and extensible microprocessor features a powerful, integrated hardware and software development environment with thousands of configuration options and an unlimited range of customer-specific extensions. The environment enables designers to carefully tune the processor for their particular application. With an easy-to-use graphical interface, designers can use Tensilica’s processor generator to create customized solutions with specialized functions and instructions to meet high-performance goals. 

About ALPS Electronic Co., Ltd.
Since its founding in 1948, ALPS Electronic Co. Ltd. has been a loyal partner in the electronic components business. ALPS major divisions include the Mechatronic Devices Division, Magnetic Devices Division, Communications Devices Division, Peripheral Products Division and Automotive Products Division. For more information, visit www.alps.co.jp.

About Tensilica
Tensilica was founded in July 1997 to address the growing need for optimized, application-specific microprocessors for high-volume embedded applications. With the Xtensa configurable and extensible microprocessor cores, Tensilica is the only company that has automated and patented the time-consuming process of generating a customized microprocessor core along with a complete software-development tool environment, producing new configurations in a matter of hours. Tensilica’s patented Xtensa design environment has been used by over 60 leading semiconductor and system companies to deliver integrated systems-on-chip (SOCs) for a variety of embedded applications.  The Xtensa microprocessor core is shipping today in products ranging from low-cost consumer devices to high-performance communications equipment. For more information, visit www.tensilica.com. 

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Editors’ Notes:

• Tensilica and Xtensa are registered trademarks belonging to Tensilica Inc.
• Tensilica’s announced licensees include Agilent, ALPS, AMCC (JNI Corporation), Astute Networks, Avision, Bay Microsystems, Berkeley Wireless Research Center, Broadcom, Cisco Systems, Conexant Systems, Cypress, Crimson Microsystems, ETRI, FUJIFILM Microdevices, Fujitsu Ltd., Hudson Soft, Hughes Network Systems, Ikanos Communications, LG Electronics, Marvell, MediaWorks, NEC Laboratories America, NEC Corporation, Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT), Olympus Optical Co. Ltd., S2io, Solid State Systems, Sony, STMicroelectronics, Stretch, TranSwitch Corporation, and Victor Company of Japan (JVC)