Chip Express Ups Speed and Gate Count, Increases Memory and I/O With New 0.18 Micron Advanced Gate Array Family; New SoC and Memory-Voracious Versions Lead the Field.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

Embedded Systems Conference San Francisco 2003

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 2003

Chip Express, the leading manufacturer of late-stage programmable Advanced Gate Array ASICs, has raised the bar again with its new 0.18 micron CX5000 family, which delivers significant increases in speed, gate count, memory and I/O. Moving to 0.18 micron geometry has allowed the company to introduce two new CX5000 product lines -- the System Slice which provides a maximum of 1.8M usable gates and 2.5M bits of memory, and the Memory Pig which delivers over 4.5Mbits of fast SRAM.

The 'System Slice'

The CX5000 System Slice is designed to be the SoC platform gate array of choice, offering a range of eight options. At the low end, the 189-pad CX50041 delivers 44K gates and 64K bits fast SRAM/ROM. The largest device, the 1089-pad CX51761, has 1.8M gates and 2.6M bits memory plus many useful PLL and DLL macros.

Comments Doug Bailey, vice president of marketing with Chip Express, "The move to field-proven, high-reliability 0.18 micron processing means that we are delivering more true ASIC gates than any FPGA, and more fast I/O than any gate array. With minimal NRE and dramatically-reduced mask costs, this makes the new Chip Express CX5000 family a true standard cell alternative."

The 'Memory Pig'

For memory-loaded designs, Chip Express has configured a second CX5000 product line, known as the 'Memory Pig.' Available in four versions, and again including combinations of PLLs, DLLs, and high-speed I/O cells, Memory Pig devices are available with between 1.0 and 4.5M bits of memory with a memory to logic gate ratio of over 500%.

Explains Bailey, "Gartner research shows -- and our own customer base confirms -- an ever-increasing appetite for memory. We developed the Memory Pig specifically to satisfy the needs of those SoC and communications device designers who have enormous memory requirements."

Chip Express' CX5000 Advanced Gate Array family runs at an impressive 200MHz. The architecture means that the limiting factor on speed is power consumption, not gate delay, and Bailey argues that constrained logic areas will run much faster. "Chip Express is conservative with its performance figures," he comments. "The CX5000 product can easily support high-speed Serdes, DDR memory interfaces and other high-performance IP."

Bailey continues, "By introducing our new 0.18 micron family now, we are delivering on our promise to develop two significant new technologies in two years. Our System Slice and Memory Pig 0.18 micron products demonstrate that we are continuing to provide high-performance, cost-effective solutions for those designers searching for a viable alternative to expensive standard cell or slow, bulky FPGAs."

Pricing and Availability

The CX5000 System Slice preliminary libraries are available now for download from the Chip Express website (www.chipexpress.com) for customers targeting System Slice design handoffs in June 2003, with production silicon in September 2003. Chip Express will begin accepting Memory Pig design handoffs in September. Design NREs range from $35K to $100K depending on the design service needs of each application. Unit pricing for devices at a 100K/year run rate vary from under $2 to about $60 subject to device size, packaging and test requirements.

About Chip Express

Chip Express is a leading manufacturer of late-stage programmable Advanced Gate Array ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits). The company's innovative, patented technology enables the consolidation of wafer manufacture tooling, reducing time-to-market and the cost of initial production. Chip Express' Advanced Gate Array devices find wide use in automotive electronics, computing, communications, consumer products, industrial control, medical equipment, and military/aerospace systems. Headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, Chip Express is a privately held corporation, founded in the U.S. in 1989. A subsidiary, Chip Express (Israel) Ltd. performs Research & Development and manages European operations.

This press release contains forward-looking statements based on current information available to Chip Express Corporation as of the date hereof. These statements are based on Management's current expectations and may ultimately prove to be incorrect or false. Factors which could cause future results to differ materially from the results discussed, implied, or forecasted in the forward-looking statements include delays in scheduled product availability dates (which could result from various occurrences including development or testing difficulties, software errors, shortages in appropriately skilled engineers and project management problems); the risks inherent in the commercialization of the Company's anticipated products and services; shifts in customer or market demand for the Company's anticipated products; the impact of competitive products and pricing; and possible disruptive effects of organizational changes, including retaining key personnel and coordinating operations. Chip Express assumes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

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