SuperH, Inc. Formed by Hitachi and STMicroelectronics to Boost the Proliferation of SuperH Cores in Embedded Microprocessor Applications.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers SAN JOSE San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif. & TOKYO & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 3, 2001 New San Jose Based Company to Develop Enhanced SuperH RISC RISC in full Reduced Instruction Set Computing Computer architecture that uses a limited number of instructions. RISC became popular in microprocessors in the 1980s. Microprocessor Cores and License MPU See microprocessor. Technology to the Open Market, Facilitating Powerful, Cost-Effective System-On-Chip Implementations STMicroelectronics (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :STM (Scanning Tunneling Microscope) A microscope that can image down to the atomic level. An STM uses a piezoelectric tube with a tiny sharp tip at the end that is moved within nanometers of the object being sampled. ) and Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT) today announced that they have signed an agreement to establish an independent company, named SuperH, Inc., which will develop and license RISC microprocessor cores of the SuperH(TM) family. The new company will license the SH-4 core and all subsequent SuperH cores to the open market, making it easier for customers worldwide to create powerful, cost-effective system-on-chip (SOC) embedded microprocessor Embedded microprocessors are essentially microprocessors that are used in everyday electronic devices, such as cellular telephones, household appliances, automobiles, or virtually any electronic device you could think of. (MPU) designs. SuperH, Inc. will also complete final development of the 64-bit SH-5 processor and take over the development of the future SH-6 and SH-7 cores. Hitachi and STMicroelectronics, both of which are world top-ten semiconductor companies that manufacture and market a broad portfolio of devices, believe that an independently managed entity concentrating on developing and licensing the SuperH family of processor cores will provide significant benefits for systems manufacturers and semiconductor firms. As the new company will be staffed by a highly focused and experienced R&D team and backed by a fully dedicated support organization, SuperH, Inc. will have the resources needed to deliver the high levels of expertise, performance and responsiveness that sophisticated customers demand. The success of SuperH, Inc. will enlarge the already extensive user base for the SuperH architecture and make it an even more compelling embedded system Any electronic system that uses a CPU chip, but that is not a general-purpose workstation, desktop or laptop computer. Such systems generally use microprocessors, or they may use custom-designed chips or both. design choice, particularly for microprocessor-based application-specific products. The potential gains are significant; according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. market research firm Gartner Dataquest, the worldwide market for such MPU-based application-specific products should increase by 33% this year and reach 1.4 billion units within four years. The SuperH family of high-performance 32-bit and 64-bit processor cores is ideally suited for digital consumer, automotive and telecommunications applications. These applications typically require a highly integrated system-on-chip solution that includes a powerful embedded processing engine and can run a wide variety of application software on industry-standard operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. and middleware. SuperH, Inc. will have its headquarters in San Jose, California San Jose (IPA: /ˌsænhoʊˈzeɪ/) is the third-largest city in California, and the tenth-largest in the United States. It is the county seat of Santa Clara County. , with operations in Bristol, U.K. and Tokyo, Japan, creating a global R&D network and customer support structure. The Chief Executive Officer of the new company will be Toshimasa Kihara, formerly General Manager of Microcomputer & ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) Pronounced "a-sick." A chip that is custom designed for a specific application rather than a general-purpose chip such as a microprocessor. Product Operation at Hitachi, and the Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. will be Jean-Marie Rolland, currently R&D Director for MicroCore Development at STMicroelectronics. Initially, around 100 people will be employed by SuperH, Inc., the majority of whom will transfer from Hitachi and STMicroelectronics. Etsuhiko Shoyama, President and Director of Hitachi, Ltd., said: "The new company will have the necessary mandate, resources and focus to take the SuperH family of processor cores to the open market. It will make the SuperH architecture the de facto standard Hardware or software that is widely used, but not endorsed by a standards organization. Contrast with de jure standard. de facto standard - A widespread consensus on a particular product or protocol which has not been ratified by any official standards body, such as ISO, in digital consumer, automotive and telecommunications. By leveraging the outstanding combination of price, performance and power that SuperH CPUs offer, from the SH-4 series upwards, SuperH, Inc. will make the cores compelling choices for leading-edge customers contemplating advanced system-on-chip designs." Pasquale Pistorio, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of STMicroelectronics, said: "The establishment of this new company is the culmination of the excellent relationship that STMicroelectronics has enjoyed with Hitachi over the past few years to develop leading-edge microprocessor cores for system-on-chip applications. The SuperH architecture already enjoys a significant market presence, especially in the digital consumer and automotive segments. SuperH, Inc. will build on this strength and really play a leading role in the fast growing embedded RISC processor market." Both STMicroelectronics and Hitachi are contributing the necessary intellectual property rights, human resources and financial assets Financial assets Claims on real assets. that SuperH, Inc. needs to start its operations. Initially, the new company will be jointly owned by Hitachi and STMicroelectronics and managed as an independent entity. The Board of Directors of the new company will comprise four members from Hitachi and four members from STMicroelectronics. A strategic round of investment is planned following incorporation. Hitachi and STMicroelectronics have been promoting the SuperH architecture together and jointly developing the SH-5 core in a close relationship since 1998. In October 2000, the companies also announced plans to jointly develop the SH-6 and SH-7 cores. The contemplated transaction is subject to certain regulatory approvals. STMicroelectronics and Hitachi expect the transaction to close within the quarter. About the SuperH architecture SuperH is a RISC microprocessor technology based on an original Hitachi architecture. To date, six cores have been released: the SH-1, SH-2, SH-3, SH2-DSP, SH3-DSP and SH-4. SuperH processors are used in many fields of industry, including information systems and digital consumer products. Applications include digital set-top boxes, portable information appliances, car navigation systems, factory automation systems and digital cameras. Further information about SuperH products can be found on http://www.SuperH.com. About Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1999 (ended March 31, 2000) consolidated sales of 8,001 billion yen ($75.5 billion[a]). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment. For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit Hitachi's web site at http://global.hitachi.com/ Hitachi's semiconductor business web site/home page address: http://global.hitachi.com/Sicd/index.htm Note [a]: At an exchange rate of 106 yen to the dollar. About STMicroelectronics STMicroelectronics (formerly SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics) is a global independent semiconductor company, whose shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. , on the ParisBourse and on the Milan Stock Exchange Milan Stock Exchange The largest regional stock exchange in Italy, facilitating more than 90% of the country's trading volume. . The Company designs, develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs) and discrete devices used in a wide variety of microelectronic applications, including telecommunications systems, computer systems, consumer products, automotive products and industrial automation and control systems. In 2000, the Company's net revenues were $7,813.2 million and net earnings were $1,452.1 million. According to Dataquest's annual ranking for 2000, STMicroelectronics is the sixth largest semiconductor company in the world. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com. Note to Editors: SuperH is a trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. |
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