omniture

Actions Semiconductor Licenses ARM Cortex-A50 Processor Family to Target 64-bit Tablet Market

2014-06-27 19:30 1549

ZHUHAI, China and CAMBRIDGE, England, June 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Actions Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACTS), one of China's leading fabless semiconductor companies, and ARM (NASDAQ: ARMH), the world's leading semiconductor intellectual property (IP) supplier, have signed a license agreement for the 64-bit ARM® Cortex®-A50 processor family. Actions Semiconductor's first SoC is due to be available in late 2014, making it one of China's leading technology design companies delivering an ARM-based 64-bit chip for tablet devices.

Actions provides comprehensive portable multimedia and mobile internet system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for portable consumer electronics. With this IP license, Actions will develop 64-bit SoC solutions targeting the tablet and over-the-counter (OTT) set top box markets.

"We are pleased to extend our relationship with ARM by licensing the Cortex-A50 processor family," said Dr. Zhenyu Zhou, CEO of Actions Semiconductor. "We believe this investment in 64-bit architecture reinforces our position as one of the leading design houses in China providing leading-edge, high performance products at attractive price points. With the mobile industry rapidly migrating from 32-bit to 64-bit operating systems, we expect our next generation SoCs utilizing this IP will allow us to compete more effectively in both the branded and whitebox segments of the tablet and OTT set top box markets."

"Premium smartphones and tablets have become primary computing devices and that is driving strong demand for 64-bit solutions," said Allen Wu, president, ARM Greater China. "Actions Semiconductor is a valued partner and we believe the combination of its expertise in low power SoC development with the ARM Cortex-A50 processor family and ARM POP IP is an exciting way of fulfilling this requirement."

Notes to Editors

The ARM Cortex-A50 processor family is based on the ARMv8-A architecture, which first introduced 64-bit support to the ARM architecture with a focus on power-efficient implementation while maintaining compatibility with the existing 32-bit software. This 64-bit IP license will assist Actions Semiconductor in addressing higher performance markets and further strengthen its market position by extending its product portfolio from 32-bit to 64-bit technology.

Contacts

Actions Semiconductor:


Elaine Ketchmere, CFA

Ally Xie

Compass Investor Relations

Actions Semiconductor

Eketchmere@compass-ir.com

investor.relations@actions-semi.com

+1 310-528-3031

+86-756-3392353*1018


ARM


Andy Winstanley

Elsa Wen

Head of Corporate PR, ARM

Corporate Marketing Manager, ARM

+44 1223 405244 /+44 7788 249712

+86-10-8217-2076 /+86-186-1226-0366

andy.winstanley@arm.com

elsa.wen@arm.com

About Actions Semiconductor

Actions Semiconductor is one of China's leading fabless semiconductor companies that provides comprehensive portable multimedia and mobile internet system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for portable consumer electronics. Actions Semiconductor products include SoCs, firmware, software, solution development kits, as well as detailed specifications of other required components. Actions Semiconductor also provides total product and technology solutions that allow customers to quickly introduce new portable consumer electronics to the mass market in a cost effective way. The Company is headquartered in Zhuhai, China, with offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen. For more information, please visit the Actions Semiconductor website at http://www.actions-semi.com.

About ARM

ARM is at the heart of the world's most advanced digital products. Our technology enables the creation of new markets and transformation of industries and society. We design scalable, energy-efficient processors and related technologies to deliver the intelligence in applications ranging from sensors to servers, including smartphones, tablets, enterprise infrastructure and the Internet of Things.

Our innovative technology is licensed by ARM Partners who have shipped more than 50 billion Systems on Chip (SoCs) containing our intellectual property since the company began in 1990. Together with our Connected Community, we are breaking down barriers to innovation for developers, designers and engineers, ensuring a fast, reliable route to market for leading electronics companies. Learn more and join the conversation at http://community.arm.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include statements concerning the Actions Semiconductor's ability to compete more effectively in the whitebox and branded segments of the tablet market, customer acceptance of the Actions Semiconductor's new products and corresponding increases in market share, Actions Semiconductor's belief that it is positioned to capture some upside from these trends, and Actions Semiconductor's future expectations with respect to revenue, gross margin, operating expenses and share-based compensation expense. Actions Semiconductor uses words like "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "project" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These forward-looking statements are estimates reflecting current assumptions, expectations and projections about future events and involve significant risks, both known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Actions Semiconductor's actual performance, financial condition or results of operations to be materially different from those suggested by the forward-looking statements including, among others, customers' cancellation or modification of their orders; our failure to accurately forecast demand for our products; the loss of, or a significant reduction in orders from, any of our significant customers; fluctuations in our operating results; our inability to develop and sell new products; defects in or failures of our products; the expense and uncertainty involved in our customer design-win efforts; the financial viability of the distributors of our products; consumer demand; worldwide economic and political conditions; fluctuations in our costs to manufacture our products; our reliance on third parties to manufacture, test, assemble and ship our products; our ability to retain and attract key personnel; our ability to compete with our competitors; and our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and not infringe the intellectual property rights of others. Other factors that may cause our actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release and that may affect our prospects in general are described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recently filed Forms F-1, 20-F and 6-Ks. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on Actions Semiconductor's future results, performance or achievements. In light of these risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release may not occur. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date stated, or if no date is stated, as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, Actions Semiconductor undertakes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or changed assumptions or circumstances.

Source: Actions Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
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