SanDisk Makes Strategic Investment in Divio Inc., a
Leading Provider of Digital Video Imaging and
Compression Solutions
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 2, 2000--SanDisk Corporation (Nasdaq:SNDK - news) announced today that
it has made a strategic investment in Divio, Inc., a privately-held manufacturer of digital imaging compression technology and
products. SanDisk's investment in Divio solidifies a partnership between the two companies that focuses on the definition and
development of flash memory-based products that will be used in a wide range of consumer video applications. Under terms of the
agreement, SanDisk has invested $7.2 million in Divio for an approximate 10% stake in the company and a seat on its board of
directors.
Divio currently designs and sells custom ASICs and related software to major OEMs that produce digital still cameras, PC
cameras and digital video solutions. Divio has also developed unique MPEG-4 compression technologies aimed at emerging
consumer video markets.
Eli Harari, president and CEO of SanDisk said, ``We are very pleased with our strategic partnership with Divio. Their talented
engineering team has the skills to produce advanced video compression solutions and is highly focused on the digital video
consumer markets that are projected to grow rapidly in the post-PC era. We expect the combination of Divio's know-how in
MPEG 4 compression and SanDisk's expertise in advanced flash memory to allow us to achieve highly desirable cost-effective
flash storage of digital video. This will greatly stimulate demand for digital consumer video (movie) products in the next few years,
much like MPEG 1 compression is doing today for the new digital MP3 audio (music) markets.''
Johnny Wang, president and CEO of Divio said, ``Divio and SanDisk are enabling manufacturers to create the next generation of
advanced digital video products for consumers. Our proven reference designs, large body of intellectual property and key
relationships with some of the biggest consumer electronics manufacturers in the world gives us a unique position in the market
and allows us to create and define compelling new video applications for the masses.''
Wes Brewer, director of strategic marketing for SanDisk, said, ``We believe that forging alliances with companies that own core
video compression technology and related engineering resources will be critical in developing advanced flash storage products that
are optimized for tomorrow's consumer digital video markets. Market researcher International Data Corporation has projected that
the markets for digital video products will exceed $10 billion by 2004, up from about $4 billion this year. We look forward to
working with Divio to develop unique solutions that will fuel future consumer demand for our products.''
Isaac van Kempen, vice president of marketing at Divio Inc. said, ``Together, Divio and SanDisk will enable manufacturers to
bring high-quality, real-time digital imaging and video to a greater audience. We will be leveraging our significant portfolio of IP
and know-how in developing next-generation video products that were not economically and technically feasible only a few years
ago.''
About Divio, Inc.
Divio, headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., has been a leader in digital video and imaging technology development since its founding
in 1995. Divio's mission is to offer OEMs a complete system solution for each Divio product, allowing them to enhance design,
minimize resources and improve overall productivity.
Pioneering the development of innovative silicon-based compression products, Divio develops, markets and manufactures an
innovative family of chip-based solutions that enables the real-time input, capture, manipulation and exchange of digital video data
for PC and consumer applications. The company's products power emerging applications in digital video recording, video
publishing, broadcast, digital imaging and video communications.
In addition to Divio's pending patents filed in algorithm, architecture, and implementation for digital video (DV) and Motion JPEG
(MJPEG) compression and decompression schemes, the company has also filed patents for breakthroughs in missing pixel
interpolation, image processing, constant bit-rate control and efficient video decoding for PC (eyeball) camera applications.
More information about Divio's complete range of products and services can be accessed on the World Wide Web at
divio.com. Inquiries can be directed to Divio at 408/732-1205 or via e-mail at sales@divio.com.
About SanDisk Corporation
SanDisk Corporation, the world's largest supplier of flash data storage products, designs, manufactures and markets
industry-standard, solid-state data, digital imaging and audio storage products using its patented, high density flash memory and
controller technology. SanDisk is based in Sunnyvale, Calif.
Certain of the statements contained herein may be considered forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties,
such as our dependence on new product introductions and the commercial success of any new products, manufacturing
inefficiencies and absorption levels, and risks associated with introducing new products and technologies, the future demand for
digital video products and other risks and uncertainties as described under the caption ``Risk Factors'' in SanDisk's annual report
on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company assumes no
obligation to update the information in this release. We cannot assure that this cooperation agreement will result in products that
are introduced in a timely fashion, or that such products will meet the future market requirements in terms of cost, performance,
and other customer expectations.
SanDisk's web site/home page address: sandisk.com.
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