Adept Technology Appoints Lee Blake as VP and General Manager of Adept Service; Appointment Reinforces Adept's Plan to Expand Worldwide Service and Support Activities.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

LIVERMORE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2004

Adept Technology, Inc. (OTCBB:ADTK), a leading manufacturer of robotic systems, motion control and machine vision technology for the telecommunications, electronics, semiconductor, automotive, lab automation, and biomedical industries, today announced that Lee Blake has joined the Adept executive management team as vice president and general manager of Adept Service. Mr. Blake's appointment reinforces Adept's organizational plan to aggressively focus on the needs of the company's customer, strengthening customer relationships and expanding services to its installed customer base. Mr. Blake will oversee worldwide service and support activities for all of Adept's product lines.

"We are delighted to have Lee on board," said Rob Bucher, chairman and chief executive officer for Adept Technology, Inc. "Lee brings over 22 years of management experience, including 15 years in automation, to the company and this will play a key role in structuring the Adept Service business segment and in strengthening our current customer relationships."

"I am excited about joining a company with such a great reputation for customer service and am looking forward to working with the service team to further expand services to its growing installed base and broadening Adept's product life extension strategy for our customers," commented Lee Blake.

Adept believes by aligning its workforce more efficiently to focus on identifying and reacting to their customers' product and service requirements, it will deliver greater customer value, improve customer productivity and subsequently promote further growth in Adept's service segment. In addition to the expansion of Adept's service offerings, the company plans to design and develop new performance enhancement products specifically for its current 20,000 installed customer base.

Prior to joining Adept, Lee Blake held the position of vice president of product development and management at Newport Corporation in Irvine, California. Mr. Blake has held several executive management positions including vice president of marketing, director of global marketing and director of market development working for such companies as Raychem Corporation, Telecom International and General Electric. Mr. Blake holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the Russ College of Engineering and Technology at Ohio University and a Masters of Business Administration with concentrations in marketing and finance from Rollins College.

Adept Technology designs, manufactures and markets robotic systems, motion control and machine vision technology for the telecommunications, electronics, semiconductor, automotive, lab automation, and biomedical industries throughout the world. Adept's robots, controllers, and software products are used for small parts assembly, material handling and packaging. Adept's intelligent automation product lines include industrial robots, configurable linear modules, machine controllers for robot mechanisms and other flexible automation equipment, machine vision, systems and software, and application software. Founded in 1983, Adept Technology is America's largest manufacturer of industrial robots. More information is available at www.adept.com.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements including statements regarding liquidity, expenses, revenue and future operating results that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The company's actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any of the above forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to, its customers ability to pay invoices in a timely manner and lack of unexpected cash obligations, the risk that some of its customers may become insolvent, future economic, competitive and market conditions including those in Europe and Asia and those related to the company's strategic markets; the company's continuing operating losses causing the company to need to raise additional financing in the future and the effect of the financing on current stockholders; the cyclicality of capital spending of the company's customers, including in the semiconductor industry and lack of long-term customer contracts; the company's dependence on the continued growth of the intelligent automation market; the company's highly competitive industry; rapid technological change within the intelligent automation industry; the lengthy sales cycles for the company's products; the company's significant fixed costs which are not easily reduced; the risks associated with sole or single sources of supply and lengthy procurement lead times; the risks associated with acquisitions, including integration risks associated with our previous acquisitions; the risks associated with product defects; the potential delays associated with the development and introduction of new products or software releases; or decreased acceptance of the company's new or current products in the marketplace.

For a discussion of additional risk factors relating to Adept's business, see Adept's annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2003, as amended, and its quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended September 27, 2003 and December 27, 2003 including the discussion in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations contained therein.

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