Chase Capital Partners, Cisco Systems and Texas Instruments Invest in MystiCom, Ltd.; MystiCom Gains Momentum in Fast Growing Silicon Intellectual Property Market.

Business/Technology Editors

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and NETANYA, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 6, 2000

MystiCom, a supplier of communications Silicon Intellectual Property (SIP) for system-on-chip (SOC) devices, today announced it has closed another round of financing totaling $10 million.

Chase Capital Partners, one of the largest private equity groups in the world, led the investment. Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO), the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet, and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), the world's leading supplier of digital-signal processors (DSPs) and analog have also joined the round. Existing investors Newbury Ventures, Polaris and Eucalyptus Venture Funds have participated as well.

"As the Internet becomes the industry's primary communications vehicle, communications systems and IC providers must have access to technology that enables high-bandwidth, reliable data transmission," said Amit Srivastava, Chase Capital Partners. "MystiCom applies unique signal processing and mixed-signal design techniques to deliver superior products. This technology, an emerging SIP business model, and a seasoned, visionary management team will lead to its success in this expanding market segment."

MystiCom is a fast growing provider of signal processing and mixed-signal SIP which is being designed into a variety of high-speed communications devices including routers, switches, set-top boxes, xDSL and cable modems, and network interface controllers. The company licenses pre-verified, reusable SIP cores that can be integrated with numerous other system functions to deliver entire communications systems on a single chip. MystiCom's initial product offering is a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet physical layer (PHY) core.

"Our unique, full-service approach to SIP delivery ensures smooth integration into SOC designs, and enables customers to shorten design time and maintain a competitive edge," said Dr. David Almagor, founder and CEO of MystiCom. "In addition, customers can apply the benefits of our technology to a broad range of single-chip communications devices and target a number of high-growth markets without having to increase their engineering resources."

The funding will enable MystiCom to open a design center in the U.S. and expand its customer support effort. The company will also leverage its DSP and mixed-signal design expertise to develop a second product family targeted for use in an emerging LAN/WAN market. Furthermore, the company will accelerate the development of its Gigabit Ethernet over copper PHY.

MystiCom currently licenses the MystiPHY110(TM), a 10/100 Mbps Ethernet PHY core that has been verified to operate over cable lengths of 160 meters. The core has been qualified for TSMC's 0.25-micron process and will be migrated to TSMC's 0.18-micron process. The company has licensed its technology to several companies including Texas Instruments, Philips Semiconductors (formerly VLSI Technology Inc.) and Infineon Technologies (formerly Siemens Semiconductor).

"As the world's leading supplier of programmable DSPs and an existing MystiCom customer, Texas Instruments is impressed by the efficient and innovative design of the MystiPHY110 which delivers low power, smaller die size and higher noise immunity," said Gregg Lowe, vice president, Texas Instruments ASIC business unit. "MystiCom delivers valuable SIP that enables TI to provide faster and easier system level integration capabilities within shrinking time-to-market constraints."

Chase Capital Partners (www.chasecapital.com) is a global private equity partnership with over $15 billion under management. CCP has been a leading provider of private equity capital since its inception in 1984 and is a diversified investor with significant interests in most major industries. To date, CCP has closed more than 950 individual transactions in North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. CCP's primary limited partner is The Chase Manhattan Corporation, one of the largest bank holding companies in the United States.

Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet. Cisco products include routers, LAN and ATM switches, dial-up access servers and network management software. These products, integrated by the Cisco IOS software, link geographically dispersed LANs, WANs and IBM networks. Cisco Systems news and product/service information are available on the World Wide Web site at www.cisco.com. Cisco Systems is headquartered in San Jose, Calif.

Texas Instruments Incorporated is a global semiconductor company and the world's leading designer and supplier of DSP and analog technology, the engines driving the digitalization of electronics. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company's business also includes materials and controls, educational and productivity solutions and digital imaging. The company has manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries.

Founded in 1997, MystiCom focuses on the design of semiconductor devices targeted for various high-speed digital communications applications. The company's first product line implements the physical layer (PHY) for Local Area Networks (LANs) using Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet protocols.

Headquartered in Netanya, Israel, with marketing and customer support offices in Silicon Valley, Calif., MystiCom is dedicated to providing companies with DSP and mixed-signal VLSI cores for high-speed communications. Additional information can be found at www.mysticom.com.

MystiCom is a registered trademark, and MystiPHY is a trademark, of MystiCom, Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.