picoChip Appoints Successful Silicon Valley Business Leader as CEO: CEO with Proven Track Record in Semiconductor and Communications Start-ups to Strengthen the Board.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BATH, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 2003

picoChip Designs Ltd today announced the appointment of Anders Swahn as the company's new chief executive officer (CEO). Anders will be responsible for the strategic direction, day-to-day operations and driving picoChip through to profitability. picoChip has developed a solution which radically improves the economics of wireless equipment and networks for advanced technologies such as 3G and WiMax.

Peter Claydon, chief operating officer and co-founder at picoChip, commented, "Our growth is accelerating rapidly as more customers appreciate how we cut their costs and dramatically improve time-to-market and flexibility. We're shipping the most powerful embedded processor on the planet and have unparalleled capability in software reference designs. Anders complements our world-leading technology with world-class management experience. We are delighted to have such a seasoned professional to manage this critical stage in our growth."

Anders Swahn, CEO of picoChip, stated, "The telecom industry is restructuring: the pace of innovation, constant price pressures and the nature of standards are increasingly making it like the data communications world where I have spent most of my career. I am delighted to be bringing this experience to picoChip. We will be a major player that accelerates this transition, enabling the next generation of wireless infrastructure. I expect picoChip to be a powerful and profitable player."

Anders has been active in Silicon Valley since 1985 and joins picoChip following his most recent post as vice president and general manager for one of PMC Sierra's Carrier Switching Division. He joined PMC Sierra through the acquisition of Abrizio Inc., where he was co-founder, chairman and CEO. Abrizio, a start-up company that developed broadband switch fabric chips used in carrier class core ATM switches, and terabit class routers, secured top-tier VC backing in Silicon Valley. Prior to Abrizio, Anders held various senior industry roles, most notably, as executive vice president of worldwide sales and marketing for Allied Telesyn International and as marketer at Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) responsible for enterprise Ethernet networking products.

Richard Irving, CEO of Pond Venture Partners, concluded, "We are delighted that Anders has agreed to join picoChip. He is a seasoned executive with a very successful track record. Anders' substantial operating, sales and marketing experience significantly augment the proven talents of the picoChip team."

The picoChip design solution combines a high-performance processor optimised for wireless, with a rich programming environment (using standard ANSI C) and comprehensive system libraries. The company announced its new PC102 processor at Microprocessor Forum last month, as the most powerful signal processor available, with 200GIPS and 40GMACs. In addition to WCDMA FDD and HSDPA, reference designs for TD-SCDMA, 802.16 ("WiMax") and other standards are under development. These provide a speedy, cost-competitive and low risk route to market for fully compliant "carrier class" 3G basestations. The system is also perfectly suited to any other advanced wireless technology, including 4G research and military software defined radio (SDR or JTRS).

The company recently announced its $17million B-round funding.

About picoChip

picoChip, located in Bath, England, is dedicated to providing innovative, flexible wireless solutions to help equipment makers minimize time-to-market, costs, and system power consumption.

At the heart of the company's offering is a scaleable, multi-processor baseband IC that combines the computational density of a dedicated ASIC with the programmability of a traditional high end Digital Signal Processor. The picoChip technology platform includes tools, development boards and reference designs, and proven IP for seamless integration with the radio frequency elements of a base station. Equipment based on picoChip technology will enable telecom operators to remotely re-configure and upgrade their equipment without the high costs of replacing obsolete hardware.

picoChip currently has a development team with a balanced mix of hardware and software engineers of outstanding ability and experience; spanning such diverse fields as communications system design, software development, computer architecture, digital signal processing, RF design, and silicon design.

The company was founded in September 2000 and is backed by both Pond Venture Partners and Atlas Venture.

Winner Best Newcomer & Runner-Up Best Design Solution Electronics Industries Design Awards, 2003

A 2003 Comet Award winner