Catalyst Semiconductor Appoints VAREP3000 Nordic as Scandinavia and Baltic Marketing Partner.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2002

Catalyst Semiconductor (Nasdaq:CATS) today announced the appointment of independent sales representative VAREP3000 Nordic AB to its sales team. VAREP3000 Nordic AB, located in Vaesby, Sweden, will support telecommunication, consumer and industrial accounts in the Baltic States, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

"We have been very impressed with the VAREP3000 organization and their success in Central Europe. We look forward to expanding our presence in the Scandinavia and Baltic regions through VAREPS's new presence in Sweden," said Catalyst Vice President of Northern European Sales Dave Lathan. "Our Flash memory, high-speed SPI EEPROM memory, and new mixed-signal products, such as the Digitally Programmable Potentiometers, will extend our reach into the local markets over the next year."

"We are very pleased to expand our relationship with Catalyst Semiconductor to cover Scandinavia and the Baltic States," said VAREP3000 Managing Director Guenter Anzer. "We have represented Catalyst Semiconductor since 1999 in Central Europe with increasing success each year. We expect to capture new design wins and increase Catalyst Semiconductor's customer base for the new mixed-signal Digitally Programmable Potentiometers and high-speed SPI memory products as well as the serial/parallel EEPROM and FLASH memory products. We expect to work closely with Catalyst's local distribution partners Future Electronics, Insight/Memec and Tech Data."

About Catalyst Semiconductor

Founded in 1985, Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc. is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. The Company designs and markets a broad range of programmable products including Flash Memories, Serial and Parallel EEPROMs with I2C, SPI and Microwire interfaces, NVRAM, Digitally Programmable Potentiometers (DPP(TM)), Microcontroller Supervisory circuits and other programmable Mixed Signal products. Catalyst products are used in telecommunications, networking systems, computation, automotive, industrial and consumer markets. Typical applications include optical networks, modems, wireless LANs, network cards, PC BIOS, DIMM modules, cellular telephones, digital satellite box receivers, set-top boxes and Internet routers. Catalyst's Quality Management System is ISO 9001 certified. For additional information about Catalyst Semiconductor, please visit our web site at www.catalyst-semiconductor.com.

About VAREP3000 GmbH and VAREP3000 Nordic AB

Founded in 2000, VAREP3000 GmbH is an independent sales and marketing organization that serves Central and Eastern Europe. In 2002, VAREP3000 Nordic AB was founded to serve customers in the Baltic States, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

As a value-added representative, VAREP3000 has assembled an experienced team of field application engineers and a proven sales and marketing staff. System design support, project management, quality and public relations support services are available. In addition to VAREP's sales resources, close relations exist with paneuropean and local distributors.

VAREP3000 represents such leading firms as Alliance Semiconductor/Pulse Core, Flextronics Semiconductor, TransDimension/SoftConnex, Aspex Technology and iAD. Major markets served include automotive, computer, industrial, consumer and communications.

For additional information about VAREP3000 contact:

Guenter Anzer                        VAREP3000 Nordic AB
Managing Director                    Loevaengsvaegen 8
VAREP3000 GmbH                       Post address:
Hueterweg 6                          Box 2086
D-85235 Pfaffenhofen a. d. Glonn     S-194 02 Upplands Vaesby, Sweden
Germany                              Phone: [phone]
Phone: [phone]        Fax: [phone]
Fax: [phone]          www.varep3000.com
Email: [e-mail]           Thomas Faeldt
www.varep3000.com                    [e-mail]
                                     Lars Hed
                                     [e-mail]

Except for those statements that report the Company's historical results, the statements being made are forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Factors which could cause actual results to differ from expectations include the following: economic conditions in the market generally and in the semiconductor industry specifically, volatility in supply and demand affecting revenues and market prices, price and availability of silicon foundry, assembly and test subcontract capacity required to meet financial targets and/or meet backlog requirements, risks and delays associated with bringing up new production capabilities with deliveries from subcontractors, timing and market acceptance of new products, increased expenses associated with new product introductions or process changes, delays in developing or achieving volume production of new products, which can result in delays or failure to contribute to revenues and profits, ability of the Company to maintain its customer and vendor base and delays in and/or inability in raising additional capital. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained under the heading "Certain Factors That May Affect the Company's Future Results of Operations" listed from time to time in Catalyst's SEC reports including but not limited to the report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 30, 2001 and Form 10-Q for the quarters ended July 31, 2001, October 31, 2001 and January 21, 2002.

Notes for Editors: DPP(TM) is a trademark of Catalyst Semiconductor. SPI(TM) is a trademark of Motorola, Inc. I2C is a trademark of Philips. Microwire(TM) is a trademark of National Semiconductor.

In I2C the 2 is superscript.