Pixelworks Again Chooses Arteris for Network-On-Chip (NoC) Interconnect Fabric IP

Network-on-Chip (NoC) interconnect IP leader's FlexNoC™ addresses SoC integration and DDR memory utilization for high-end video processing systems-on-chip (SoCs)

SUNNYVALE, California – January 26, 2011 – Arteris Inc., the inventor and leading supplier of network-on-chip based (NoC) interconnect IP solutions, today announced that Pixelworkshas licensed Arteris’ latest FlexNoC network-on-chip interconnect fabric IP and the Arteris memory scheduler for use in Pixelworks’ real-time video processing SoCs.

Pixelworks first licensed Arteris network-on-chip interconnect IP and the Arteris memory scheduler in 2006. In early 2008, Arteris and Pixelworks announced their first product enabled with Arteris NoC interconnect IP. Since then, Pixelworks has used the Arteris NoC interconnect fabric and memory scheduler in multiple products.

The Pixelworks team chose the Arteris FlexNoC interconnect and the Arteris memory scheduler to enable easy integration of third-party SoC IP and to ensure maximum DDR utilization. The easily configurable Arteris scheduler allowed creation of arbitration schemes which suited the needs of various Pixelworks products lines with minimal design and verification overhead, thereby enabling faster time to market and a lower solution cost.

Arteris FlexNoC and the Arteris memory scheduler also alleviated wire routing congestion and timing closure issues with many IP blocks communicating simultaneously with DDR memory. In addition, the Arteris products allowed Pixelworks to easily adapt interconnect topologies to save area and to port to FPGA targets for SoC emulation.

“For the past five years, Arteris has enabled Pixelworks to quickly adapt our products to changing market needs while reducing our product risk and easily achieving timing closure,” said T Chan, Senior Vice President of Engineering for Pixelworks. “We are happy to choose Arteris FlexNoC as the interconnect fabric IP and memory scheduler for all our product lines.”

Use of the Arteris FlexNoC IP simplifies the front-end design process while easing back-end routing congestion and timing closure issues. Arteris NoC interconnect IP technology enables SoC designers to achieve lower power, higher memory bandwidth and optimized latencies by individual connections. This improves SoC performance, lowers SoC costs and enables rapid adoption of IPs communicating in a variety of protocols. The growing Arteris ecosystem provides connectivity to a variety of IPs and IP protocols as well as multiple EDA design flows.

The Arteris FlexNoC product offers ability to reduce the number of interconnect wires required for SoC design. Reducing the number of wires resolves routing congestion at the back-end place-and-route stage, resulting in shorter development cycle time, less SoC complexity, smaller SoC area and less SoC power.

“Pixelworks’ purchase of Arteris’ latest FlexNoC network-on-chip IP and memory scheduler products after using the previous versions for nearly five years is a strong vote of confidence in Arteris’ demonstrated capability to deliver exceptional value to customers,” said K. Charles Janac, President and CEO of Arteris. “We are proud that Pixelworks has once again entrusted Arteris with resolving the SoC challenges of fast IP integration, timing closure, and risk reduction.”

About Arteris

Arteris, Inc. provides Network-on-Chip interconnect IP and tools to accelerate System-on-Chip semiconductor (SoC) assembly for a wide range of applications. Results obtained by using the Arteris product line include lower power, higher performance, more efficient design reuse and faster development of ICs, SoCs and FPGAs.

Founded by networking experts and offering the first commercially available Network-on-Chip IP products, Arteris operates globally with headquarters in San Jose, California and an engineering center in Paris, France. Arteris is a private company backed by a group of international investors including ARM Holdings, Crescendo Ventures, DoCoMo Capital, Qualcomm Incorporated, Synopsys, TVM Capital, and Ventech. More information can be found at www.arteris.com.

About Pixelworks, Inc.

Pixelworks, headquartered in San Jose, California, is an innovative designer, developer and marketer of video and pixel processing technology, semiconductors and software for high-end digital video applications. At design centers in Shanghai and San Jose, Pixelworks engineers push pixel performance to new levels for leading manufacturers of consumer electronics and professional displays worldwide.

For more information, please visit the company's Web site at www.pixelworks.com.