AMD Acquisition of Alchemy Semiconductor Expands Market Focus

AMD Will Offer Solutions for Personal Connectivity Devices

SUNNYVALE, CA -- 2/6/2002 -- AMD today announced that it will acquire Alchemy Semiconductor, a privately held company that designs, develops, and markets high-performance, low-power MIPS-based microprocessors for personal connectivity devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), web tablets, and portable and wired Internet access devices and gateways. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2002.

“The market for Internet access devices and gateways is one of our industry’s great growth opportunities,” said Hector Ruiz, president and chief operating officer of AMD. “Today our customers are looking to AMD for non-PC solutions in addition to PC solutions for Internet access. AMD is one of the few companies in the world with the experience, customer relationships, and intellectual property to provide complete connectivity solutions for both PCs and non-PCs.

“The founders of Alchemy have created some of the most innovative and commercially successful processors in the industry, including the Alpha and StrongARM processors,” Ruiz continued. “By joining forces, AMD and Alchemy can supply the building blocks of connectivity – computing solutions from Alchemy coupled with wired and wireless technologies and flash memory devices from AMD. Alchemy’s MIPS-based solutions provide the ideal combination of high performance and low power for the Internet access device market,” said Ruiz.

“Today’s combination is a validation of Alchemy Semiconductor’s technology, innovation, and business plan,” said Jim Moore, chief executive officer of Alchemy Semiconductor. “There is a great synergy between the customers, technologies, and cultures of these two companies that makes AMD and Alchemy a natural fit. This combination will allow Alchemy to continue its strong growth trajectory while invigorating our business plan with resources that only a large company like AMD can supply.”

“OEMs are looking for high-performing, low-power processors for their small–footprint, wireless Windows-powered devices,” said Scott Horn, director, Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group at Microsoft Corp. “The acquisition of Alchemy will help AMD meet this demand, enabling them to provide embedded developers with a compelling solution to power these next-generation smart devices.”

AMD has established the Personal Connectivity Solutions business unit to focus on products for non-PC connectivity devices. Dr. William T. (“Billy”) Edwards, is vice president and general manager of the new business unit. Edwards previously served as chief executive officer of Hesson Labs and as senior vice president of Motorola. Edwards holds Ph D, MS, and BE degrees in materials science engineering, and a BS in biomedical engineering from Vanderbilt University.

The founders of Alchemy Semiconductor include industry veterans Rich Witek and Greg Hoeppner. Witek was the co-architect of the Alpha processor and the architect of the StrongARM processor while at Digital Equipment Corporation. Hoeppner was the implementation lead for the Alpha processor and the site and engineering director for the Austin, Texas, design center for Digital Equipment Corporation. Both Witek and Hoeppner will join AMD, reporting directly to Edwards.

About AMD
AMD is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia. AMD, a Fortune 500 and Standard & Poor’s 500 company, produces microprocessors, flash memory devices, and support circuitry for communications and networking applications. Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD had revenues of $3.9 billion in 2001. (NYSE: AMD).