Hitachi and Sony Reach Agreement on Licensing
of SuperH RISC CPU Cores Tokyo, Japan, March 31, 1998 -- Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT) and Sony Corporation today announced that the two company have concluded a licensing agreement regarding the CPU cores of the Hitachi's SuperH RISC engine family (SuperH). Pursuant to this agreement, Hitachi will supply Sony with SH-1, SH-3 and SH-4 DSP CPU cores and related design technology. Sony plans to use the CPU cores in the development, production and marketing of its own system LSIs. Hitachi will also support the production of Sony system LSIs that carry the Hitachi's SuperH CPU cores. The agreement marks another step in Hitachi's bid to strengthen the status of the SuperH microprocessors as an industry standard in the multimedia market through global partnerships. Licensing and joint-development agreements were concluded earlier with VLSI Technology Inc.of the U.S, SGS-THOMSON Microelectronics of Europe and Seiko Epson Corporation of Japan. These moves provide customers with sophisticated user support system and enable Hitachi tooffer a broad range of system solutions. Sony recognizes the importance of RISC microprocessors to the rapidly growing market for digital AV electronics market, and plans to provide a wide variety of essential CPU cores to meet the needs of its customers. Sony is a leading producer of AV electronics related IC products such as laser diodes, CCDs, and system LSIs. Sony's decision to license Hitachi's SuperH CPU cores will further enhance its semiconductor operations and strengthen the position of the SuperH cores in the multimedia market. Furthermore, by integrating Hitachi's high cost-performance SuperH CPU cores with its earlier system technologies, Sony will be able to provide an even wider variety of system solutions for use in digital AV and IT electronics appliances. This will help Sony better respond to the needs of its customers.
About the SuperH RISC architecture Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of the world's leading global electronics companies, with fiscal 1996 (ending March 31, 1997) consolidated sales of 8,523 billion yen ($68.7 billion*). The company manufacturesand 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://www.hitachi.co.jp/.
SuperH is a trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. |