SHI was established in July 2001 as a joint venture company between Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE:HIT) and ST to develop CPU cores from the SH-5 onward and license the SH-4 and subsequent next-generation CPU cores. Since its formation, SHI has completed SH-5 CPU core development and licensed the SuperH CPU core to licensees worldwide. At the same time, the company has established close partnerships with third parties, such as software, tools, and SoC design companies and foundry partnerships with UMC and TSMC. The company was transferred to Renesas Technology and ST after the formation of Renesas Technology in April 2003, and has been operating as the joint venture company of Renesas Technology and ST since then.
However, Renesas Technology and ST have decided that the best strategy to achieve more widespread use of the SuperH architecture is to integrate all activities from development and licensing through to design, manufacture and sales. This has led to the present agreement.
"Renesas Technology will continue to strengthen its microprocessor business and dedicate resources for the proliferation of the SuperH architecture," said Dr. Koichi Nagasawa, Chairman & CEO at Renesas Technology Corp. "The SuperH architecture has already established an excellent market leadership position and has become the de facto standard, especially in areas of automotive and mobile systems. To build on this success, Renesas Technology will continue to work with software, middleware and system integration partners to provide compelling system solutions to these and other embedded applications."
"Over the last three years, SHI has successfully executed an aggressive development plan and rolled out a range of SH-4 processor cores particularly suited for digital consumer applications. ST will continue to deploy this technology across its digital TV and set-top box offering, enabling a more interactive and richer user experience in these markets," commented Philippe Geyres, General Manager of ST's Consumer & Microcontroller Groups.
On October 1, 2004, Renesas Technology and ST will take over SHI's design assets and related development team. Renesas Technology will further strengthen its development structure for SuperH microprocessor cores by integrating the acquired assets into its microprocessor development division. Renesas Technology will license and provide the associated support needed to offer the best microprocessor cores meeting the needs of sophisticated SoC markets.
Notes: SuperH is a trademark of Renesas Technology Corp.
About Renesas Technology Corp.
Renesas Technology Corp. designs and manufactures highly integrated semiconductor system solutions for mobile, automotive and PC/AV markets. Established on April 1, 2003 as a joint venture between Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, NYSE:HIT) and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TSE:6503) and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Renesas Technology is one of the largest semiconductor companies in the world and world leading microcontroller supplier globally. Besides microcontrollers, Renesas Technology offers system-on-chip devices, Smart Card ICs, mixed-signal products, flash memories, SRAMs and more. http://www.renesas.com