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SST and SANYO Expand Partnership
Tuesday, July 6, 1999 05:00 AM
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Companies Enter Agreements for Second-Source, 0.25-Micron Technology Licensing And Joint Product Development
SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 6 /PRNewswire/ -- SST (Silicon Storage Technology, Inc.) (Nasdaq: SSTI) and SANYO Electric Co.,
Ltd. today announced that they have entered into multi-faceted second-source, technology licensing, joint development and
wafer foundry agreements. The announcement was made earlier today at a press conference in Tokyo, Japan. Under terms of
the OEM agreement, SANYO will second-source SST's flash memory product portfolio under the SANYO brand. The
agreement also calls for SANYO and SST to co-develop high-functionality application-specific flash memory products targeted
for cellular phone and Internet appliance applications. The companies also announced that they have expanded their
technology licensing agreement. SANYO will gain access to SST's SuperFlash(R) technology for use in embedded flash
products manufactured on SANYO's 0.25-micron process. SST, meanwhile, secures ample capacity of SANYO's 0.25-micron
wafer foundry for next-generation products and will receive royalty from SANYO's product sales based on SST's SuperFlash
technology. Prior to this agreement, SST's foundry agreement with SANYO included 0.7-, 0.5- and 0.35-micron process
technologies. The press conference in Tokyo was hosted by Mr. Yukinori Kuwano, president of Semiconductor Company of
SANYO, and Mr. Bing Yeh, president and chief executive officer of SST.
The agreement with SANYO, one of the largest consumer product marketers in the world, will enable SST to continue to
expand its market presence globally through SANYO's existing sales and distribution channels. The OEM agreement is initially
earmarked to include SANYO as a second-source for SST's MTP(TM) (Many-Time Programmable) and MPF(TM)
(Multi-Purpose Flash) standard flash memory products. The companies expect to extend this agreement to future SST products
as well. SANYO's decision to second-source the SST product line was driven by customer demand for broad flash memory
solutions that address diverse market requirements. SANYO's license of SST's SuperFlash technology is due to its inherent
scalability to finer process geometries, high reliability, simplicity of circuit design and its logic-process compatibility. SANYO
expects early deployment of SST's 0.25-micron SuperFlash technology in cellular phone and Internet appliance applications
with initial product shipment in the third quarter of 2000.
"We are extremely pleased to expand our long-term relationship with SANYO to now include a second-source agreement," said
Mr. Bing Yeh, president and chief executive officer of SST. "With our technology, and SANYO's brand name, we expect the
impact of this agreement to be far-reaching and represent a potentially significant new revenue source for both companies.
This 0.25-micron technology licensing by SANYO is also further validation of our goal of establishing SST's SuperFlash as the
technology-of-choice for embedded applications. We are excited to be working with SANYO on the joint development of
high-functionality application-specific flash memory for leading-edge consumer communication applications. This expanded
relationship will further position SST to take full advantage of the strong demand of flash memory products during the current
industry upturn."
"We are very happy to continue our partnership with SST and with the opportunity to offer system solutions to our customers
with advanced flash memory technology," said Mr. Yukinori Kuwano, president of Semiconductor Company of SANYO. "We
have always viewed SST's SuperFlash technology as an ideal flash memory solution to integrate into digital consumer
applications where low-power, low-voltage and high-performance are critical. Thus, we are eager to add our own considerable
resources to SST's design expertise to co-develop innovative specialty memory products based on SuperFlash technology for
next-generation wireless and Internet appliance applications."
About SuperFlash Technology
SST's SuperFlash technology is a NOR type, split-gate cell architecture which uses a reliable thick-oxide process with fewer
manufacturing steps resulting in a low-cost, non-volatile memory solution with excellent data retention and higher reliability.
The split-gate NOR SuperFlash architecture facilitates a simple and flexible design suitable for high performance, high
reliability, small or medium sector size, in- or off-system programming and a variety of densities, all in a single
CMOS-compatible technology.
About SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.
SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. is a US$14 billion global manufacturer and distributor of consumer and commercial electronics and
electric products that include audio and video, home appliances, industrial and commercial equipment, information and
communications systems, electronics devices, environmentally beneficial rechargeable batteries, solar cells, and air
conditioning equipment. SANYO's Semiconductor Company, one of the Group's five major companies, has a long history of
semiconductor development and manufacturing for consumer product applications. SANYO's expertise in the area of
semiconductors and supporting fundamental technologies will enable the company to play a major role in the rapidly growing
multimedia field.
About Silicon Storage Technology, Inc.
Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, SST designs, manufactures and markets a diversified range of non-volatile memory
solutions, based on proprietary, patented SuperFlash technology, for the computer, communications and consumer markets.
SST's product families include low-cost, high-functionality flash memory components, CompactFlash card mass storage
products and 8-bit microcontrollers with on-chip flash memory. SST also offers its SuperFlash technology for embedded
applications through its world-class manufacturing partners and technology licensees Acer Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc.,
IBM, Motorola, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., Seiko Epson Corp., and Taiwan Semiconductor
Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC). Further information on SST can be found on the company's website at ssti.com.
NOTE: The SST logo and SuperFlash are registered trademarks of Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. MTP and MPF are
trademarks of SST. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE Silicon Storage Technology, Inc.
CONTACT: Jeffrey L. Garon of Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., 408-735-9110, or jgaron@ssti.com; or Kristin Hehir of Tsantes
& Associates, 408-369-1500, ext. 34, or kristin@tsantes.com, for SST; or Yuji Kitamura of SANYO Semiconductor Corporation,
201-291-0606, ext. 512, or ymk@earthlink.net
Quote for referenced ticker symbols: SSTI
© 1999, PR Newswire
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