Xref: utzoo comp.sys.acorn:8 comp.arch:19634 Path: utzoo!utgpu!cunews!bnrgate!uunet!mcsun!ukc!acorn!rwilson From: RWilson@acorn.co.uk Newsgroups: eunet.micro.acorn,comp.sys.acorn,comp.arch Subject: Joint Venture Announcement - 2 press releases Message-ID: <4274@acorn.co.uk> Date: 3 Dec 90 14:54:04 GMT Sender: rwilson@acorn.co.uk Lines: 131 "Advanced RISC Machines Ltd" Launched to attack RISC business - Acorn RISC Chip Designs Attract U.S. Investment - November 27th 1990: A new silicon chip design company Advanced RISC Machines Ltd ("ARM") has been formed in Cambridge, England. By exploiting the proven RISC technology deigns originally developed by Acorn Computers, it will address and attack the growing market for low-cost, low-power, high performance 32 bit RISC chips. Advanced RISC Machines is initially backed by Acorn Computers (80% owned by Olivetti), VLSI Technology Inc and Apple Computer. Currently ARM products are licensed by VLSI Technology and Sanyo Electric Company of Japan. The goals of the new company will be to expand the ARM technology product offerings and to promote other sources to support the expanding customer base. The strategy of Advanced RISC Machines is to focus on applications where ultra-low power consumption, high performance and low cost are critical. Such applications and products include personal and portable computers, telephones and embedded control uses in consumer and automotive electronics. Several of these uses are already occuring at the design-in or production stage. More than 130,000 chip sets of the full 4 chip family (ARM2 processor, MEMC1 memory controller, VIDC video controller, IOC IO controller) have been shipped to date, placing it among the leading RISC processors. Announcing the launch of Advanced RISC Machines today, Sam Wauchope, Managing Director of Acorn Computers said "The ARM architecture developed by Acorn has been implemented in several generations of chips over the last five years, using VLSI Technology's design tools and manufacturing expertise. This proven technology and product base will be the foundation of ARM's plan to pursue an aggresive product roadmap". Larry Tesler, Vice President, Advanced Products, of Apple Computer said "We believe that Advanced RISC Machines will be a successful venture and investment because the technology represents an important trend for the 1990s. There is a need for a new product and standard with these advantages of high-performance, low power consumption and low cost for a variety of applications, and we will be investigating its use in several new product areas". James R. Fiebiger, President and Chief Operating Officer of VLSI Technology said "The ARM features make it uniquely suited to meet the rigorous requirements of embedded control applications, while meeting the market demand for low cost. The processor features the lowest cost per MIP of any product currently available. The device has the smallest die size, allowing easy integration of customer-defined functions. In low-power applications, the ARM RISC provides better performance due to its high MIPs per Watt ratio. "Used as a core cell with our design tools ARM technology has enabled us to create ASICs rapidly and help customers bring their products to market quickly". Capable of processing up to 20 million instructions per second, the latest ARM 32 bit RISC processor provide unequalled cost/performance targetted at a price of $1 per MIP. Similarly, in terms of power consumption, the ARM design as fabricated by VLSI Technology is uniquely efficient, producting the equivalent of 100 MIPs per Watt. Customers worldwide are evaluating ARM RISC chip sets and application specific derivatives. Many new designs are expected as the current ARM3 30MHz (on chip cache) series and the ARM2as (a fully static device) lead on to even faster and more power efficient processors. Already Acorn Computers have launched an ARM3 based machine offering 13.5MIPs and their future products will be based on the new ARM processors and controller designs. In Europe, Hermann Hauser's Active Book Company plans to bring out a notebook-sized portable computer based on ARM ASIC technology. In the United States, Radius use the ARM in graphics accelerators for the Apple Machintosh. In Japan, Sanyo Electric Company is using ARM to develope embedded controllers. The initial investors have agree an initial development "Roadmap" for the technology for the first few years, but this will be tailored as market demands are tracked by a Technical Advisory Board being set up by the company, major customers, academic researchers and industry experts. To assist prospective users, Advanced RISC Machines offers a complete custom service for special versions of its RISC family. VLSI Technology will continue to manufacture existing and future ARM designs at their worldwide fabrication sites. In addition, they will offer the ARM as a core cell in ASIC and catalogue product offerings. The ARM technology, being a British design, has already attracted European Commission funding; the new company expects its existing and planned RISC designs to win further backing as ARM acts as a partner in the Open Microsystems Initiative, working towards a European processor solution for future generations of embedded control and workstations. It is the intention of all involved that Advanced RISC Machines be an independent company with an "open" processor architecture and the initial investors expect that further investors will be found to confirm this independence and add strength to the enterprise. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Acorn RISC Innovations Attract U.S. Investment" Following the launch of Advanced RISC Machines Limited today (Nov 27th), Acorn Computers see further opportunities to increase sales of their range of existing and future computers based on ARM RISC processors. Since 1985, when Acorn's first RISC designs were developed, Acorn has sold over 100,000 RISC based computers, more than any other manufacturer except Sun and the most by a personal computer manufacturer. The company is still the only manufacturer supplying 32 bit RISC machines from less than 1000 pounds and is the clear market leader in education and training with over 60% of the market. Acorn has a significant 30% shareholding in Advanced RISC Machines which is based on the Acorn RISC designs and will be staffed by many of the Acorn chip design team. Apple Computer have also taken a 30% share and VLSI Technology have invested in the company and licenced its products. "More and more users are beginning to appreciate the advantages of RISC-based systems for high performance, yet low cost, applications in desktop computers, portable systems and embedded controllers" said Sam Wauchope, MD of Acorn Computers Ltd. "The investment by Apple in Advanced RISC Machines is one of the strongest indications yet that Acorn's innovative designs are ahead of other solutions, especially when low cost (and low power consumption) are critical", he added. Acorn will be strongly represented on the board of Advanced RISC Machines and will have inputs to their future product strategy and the design of new families of ARM processors and peripheral chips in the 1990s. The company will continue to invest heavily in research and development to maintin its leadership in education and expand its sales in other areas of Information Technology, such as desk-top publishing, computer-based training and image processing. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brought to you by Super Global Mega Corp .com