Yamaha to Integrate ARM RISC Core in Custom Multimedia Chips; World musical instrument leader targets Internet appliances, advanced sound generators, car navigation and set-top boxes.

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 4, 1996--Yamaha Corporation has licensed 32-bit RISC processor cores from Advanced RISC Machines Limited (ARM) for use in their multimedia chips.

Yamaha will build the ARM7 cores into custom integrated circuits (ICs) for Internet appliances, advanced sound generators, car navigation and set-top box applications.

"Yamaha has been a musical instrument leader for over a century, and we look forward to the results when their audio signal processing and entertainment hardware skills are combined with ARM technology," commented Robin Saxby, managing director and CEO, ARM.

Initially, two ARM processor cores will be made available in Yamaha's chip design libraries: the ARM7DI with ARM's advanced EmbeddedICE in-chip debug, and the very small ARM7D for low-cost, high-volume production.

"For our next generation sound and entertainment chips, we need to integrate a CPU with better performance than the existing 8- or 16-bit cores offer," said Takashi Murayama, general manager of engineering development department, Yamaha. "We found the ARM processor delivered the performance we needed at the lowest cost and power consumption, and from a die area not much larger than our existing lower performance cores."

Yamaha is a leading specialist supplier of Standard Cell Semi-custom ICs and ASSPs. ARM-based standard part designs are underway at Yamaha now and the first of these multimedia chips are expected by the end of the year. Yamaha will also make available fully characterized ARM processor macrocells in their ASIC design library for external customers by Q3 1996.

About Yamaha

Since 1887, when it began producing reed organs in Japan, the Yamaha Corporation has grown to become the world's largest manufacturer of a full line of musical instruments, and a leading producer of audio/visual products, semiconductors and other computer related products, sporting goods, home appliances and furniture, specialty metals, machine tools, and industrial robots.

About Advanced RISC Machines Ltd (ARM)

ARM designs, licenses and markets high-performance, low-cost, low-power consumption 32-bit RISC processors, peripherals and development tools for embedded control, consumer multi-media, DSP and portable applications. ARM also provides consulting and training. ARM licenses its technology to semiconductor partner companies, who focus on manufacturing, applications and marketing.

The versatility of ARM's cores, together with the unparalleled breadth of the partnership's expertise ensures that ARM-based solutions are available to meet almost every customer's processor needs. The ARM semiconductor partners are: Alcatel Mietec, Asahi Kasei Microsystems, Atmel ES2, Cirrus Logic, Digital Semiconductor, GEC Plessey Semiconductors, LG Semicon, NEC, OKI, Samsung, Sharp, Symbios Logic, Texas Instruments and VLSI Technology. Together they make ARM the world volume embedded RISC standard.

To learn more about ARM, please see our Web Site at: www.arm.com ARM, EmbeddedICE and the ARM Powered Logo are trademarks of Advanced RISC Machines Ltd.

CONTACT: Yamaha Corporation

Yuji Hoshino, [phone]

[e-mail]

or

Cain Communications

Mark Alden, 408/291-2580

[e-mail]