NEWS BRIEFS

Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT) and Triscend Corporation today announced a joint development agreement that will result in Hitachi entering the Configurable System- on-Chip (CSoC) market with devices based on the industry-leading SuperH 32-bit RIS C processor and the Triscend CSoC Platform. This agreement allows Hitachi to integrate the Triscend CSoC Platform a cross the span of existing SuperH RISC processors.

These SuperH-based CSoC devices, available starting in 2002, will complement Hitachi’s existing portfolio of SuperH devices to penetrate advanced telecommunications and other applications and provide customers with a proven fast time-to-market solution. Hitachi’s SuperH-based CSoC devices will expand the range of Triscend-compliant CSoC solutions beyond Triscend’s existing 8051-based E5(TM) and ARM-based A7 (TM), giving designers a richer choice of processors for off-the-shelf system-on-chip solutions.

As Triscend-compliant CSoC solutions, the SuperH-based CSoC devices will inherit the benefits of Triscend’s FastChip software, including FastChip’s growing library of “drag and drop” IP modules and its seamless integration with standard third party EDA and embedded development tools. “This joint development relationship with Hitachi solidifies our technology leadership and takes our CSoC Platform another step closer to becoming an industry standard,” said Stanley Yang, president and CEO of Triscend. “Triscend provides us with leading edge CSoC technology that will enhance the leadership position of the SuperH among RISC processors worldwide,” said Kunio Has egawa, Executive Vice President, Semiconductor and Integrated Circuits of Hitachi. “Combining our SuperH architecture with Triscend’s innovative CSoC Platform will result in shorter development time and lower development costs for end systems, critical factors for products of the digital consumer age.”

The Triscend CSoC Platform consists of the CSI (Configurable System Int erconnect) bus, the CSL (Configurable System Logic) embedded programmable logic matrix, and the CSI socket. The CSI bus is a processor-independent, high performance, scalable, multi-master bus explicitly designed for tight integration with the CSL. The CSL is an advanced SRAM-based programmable logic architecture optimized for processor compatibility and system-level design and debug. Similar to a software API (Application Programmer Interface), the CSI socket provides a standardized interface between the CSI bus and the CSL, ensuring FastChip’s “drag and drop” capability to operate on all Triscend-compliant CSoC devices. Hitachi’s first SuperH-based CSoC devices will be available in 2002, and will be sold and supported by Hitachi worldwide.

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) consolid ated sales of 8,001 billion yen ($75.5 billion). The company manufactures and markets a wide range of products, including computers, semiconductors, consumer products and power and industrial equipment.

About Triscend Corporation Triscend Corporation is a leading provider of Configurable System-on-Chip (CSoC) devices – a single-chip combination of a dedicated industry-standard microprocessor, embedded programmable logic, a dedicated system bus, and memory. Targeted at the communications market, Triscend CSoC devices, along with the FastChip Software Development System, fill the gap between fully custom system-on-chips and application specific standard products, providing the next level of integration, ti me-to-market and programmability. Founded in 1997, Triscend is privately held and venture capital funded and is headquartered in Mountain View, CA.

Web site: http://global.hitachi.com/ Web site: http://www.triscend.com

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