GN ReSound Inks ASIC Engagement with eSilicon

SUNNYVALE, CA — May 3, 2011 — eSilicon Corporation, the largest independent semiconductor Value Chain Producer (VCP), today announced that GN ReSound, a technology leader in hearing aid solutions, has contracted with eSilicon for the production of the AD4.0 ASIC. This ASIC is a key component in next generation hearing instruments from GN ReSound.

GN ReSound selected eSilicon as its ASIC partner in order to leverage eSilicon's deep knowledge and experienced manufacturing team to take the AD4.0 ASIC to production rapidly.

“Exceeding all sales projections for our new, award winning Alera hearing instruments, we sought an experienced ASIC partner that could manage the ASIC manufacturing and back-end production, allowing us to focus our resources on design of new products. We looked for a partner who could optimize our current costs, uphold our high standards of quality, and deliver product on time,” said Peter Vuust, Director of Corporate Purchase at GN ReSound. “eSilicon is a provider that could address all of our concerns, and they have a strong track record proving their competency and commitment to our values. The big bonus was access to work in progress through the eSilicon Access® production management system that allows 24/7 visibility into the status of the products as they move through the production phase.”

“GN ReSound is an ideal customer. We are both customer-driven companies with high standards for quality and on-time delivery. They have established an industry leadership position through the design and sales of several leading-edge hearing aid models, and we believe our support will help them stay on the path of rapid growth in this highly competitive market,” said Rob Cadman, VP and GM of eSilicon's EMEA region. “They can entrust the management of their ASIC production, allowing the company to reduce overhead and focus resources on design of their next-generation products.”

About Value Chain Producers

A Value Chain Producer (VCP) is a company that collaborates with foundries, IP and service providers, EDA suppliers, package, assembly and test operations in designing and producing chips for fabless IC, IDM and OEM companies. VCPs optimize the economics of customer value chains and enable customers to focus on their product differentiation and market growth. A VCP earns revenue by shipping packaged, tested products with the customer’s logo. The term was created by eSilicon and was adopted by the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) as a new category in October 2009.

About eSilicon

eSilicon, the largest independent semiconductor Value Chain Producer (VCP), delivers ASICs to OEM and fabless semiconductor companies through a flexible, lower-risk path to volume production by deploying its comprehensive suite of design through manufacturing services. The company's customers include system original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and fabless semiconductor companies who serve a wide variety of markets including the consumer, computer, communications and industrial segments. eSilicon — Enabling Your Silicon Success™. For more information, please visit www.esilicon.com.

About GN ReSound

GN ReSound is an industry technology leader in hearing solutions. Since the company's inception in 1943, GN ReSound has been responsible for a number of hearing industry firsts, including the introduction of Wide Dynamic Range Compression (WDRC), Digital Feedback Suppression (DFS) and the world's first open standard digital chip. Headquartered in Ballerup, Denmark, GN ReSound is part of The GN Store Nord Group, and one of the world's largest providers of hearing instruments and diagnostic audiological instrumentation. http://www.gnresound.com