Asyst Technologies and VLSI Research to Conduct First in a Series of Conference Calls Focused on Fab Automation.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

WHAT:           Asyst Technologies (Nasdaq:ASYT) and VLSI Research Inc
                have joined forces to present a special technology
                series dedicated to the status, challenges,
                opportunities and future direction of semiconductor
                fab automation. Using an interactive Q&A format,
                coupled with a live telecast, each segment of the new
                Fab Automation Series will explore a vital facet of
                fab automation and its enabling role in the successful
                fabrication of state-of-the-art chips.

                  Moderated by well-known industry analyst G. Dan
                Hutcheson, president of VLSI Research Inc, the
                segments will include guest industry experts who will
                help provide a unique perspective on the topic at
                hand, as well as visionary insight into the future
                roadmap.

                  The Fab Automation Series, which debuts July 12, kicks
                off with "300 mm Automation" -- a discussion on the
                crucial nature of substrate-handling, transport and
                automation systems in advanced wafer processing.

WHEN:           Thursday, July 12, 2001
                2:00-3:00 p.m. (PDT)

WEBCAST:        http://www.asyst.com/FabAutomation/

HOSTS:          G. Dan Hutcheson, President, VLSI Research Inc
                Dr. Mihir Parikh, Chairman and CEO,
                Asyst Technologies

SPECIAL GUEST:  Dr. Paolo Gargini, Director of Technology Strategy,
                Intel Corporation

SPONSORS:       Asyst Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of
                integrated automation systems for the semiconductor
                manufacturing industry, which enable semiconductor
                manufacturers to increase their manufacturing
                productivity and protect their investment in silicon
                wafers during the manufacture of integrated circuits,
                or ICs. Through its "Value-Assured Fab" strategy,
                Asyst offers a broad range of 200 mm and 300 mm
                solutions that enable the safe transfer of wafers and
                information between the process equipment and the fab
                line throughout the IC fabrication process, while
                reducing IC damage caused by human, environmental,
                mechanical and chemical factors. Encompassing
                isolation systems, work-in-process materials
                management, substrate-handling robotics, automated
                transport and loading systems, and connectivity
                automation software, Asyst's modular, interoperable
                solutions allow chipmakers and original equipment
                manufacturers, or OEMs, to select and employ the
                value-assured, hands-off manufacturing capabilities
                that best suit their needs. Asyst's homepage is
                http://www.asyst.com

                  VLSI Research Inc was founded in 1976 and specializes
                in market research and economic analysis on the
                technical, business and economic aspects of the
                high-technology semiconductor manufacturing industry.
                Its numerous contacts within the semiconductor
                industry provide sharply focused insight into emerging
                requirements. The success of VLSI Research Inc is due
                to its reputation for unparalleled accuracy and
                innovation in market research. Its databases on
                manufacturing are used throughout industry, by
                government and is often quoted by the press. Since the
                early eighties, it has been the only market research
                firm to consistently gauge the direction of growth.
                VLSI was the first to use demand-based forecasting and
                cost-of-ownership models for evaluating equipment; the
                first to model semiconductor inventories in forecasts,
                to provide portable research and to perform customer
                satisfaction surveys; and the first semiconductor
                industry research firm to apply desktop publishing.