Raza Microelectronics, Inc. (RMI(TM)) Backed by Leading Technology Investors Warburg Pincus and Benchmark Capital to Transform Information Infrastructure
CUPERTINO, Calif.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—May 16, 2005— Atiq Raza, Chairman and C.E.O. of Raza Microelectronics(TM) Inc., today unveiled the strategic vision for RMI and announced two new groundbreaking products currently sampling to top-tier customers."There is a clear shift emerging as the Information Infrastructure becomes the computer," said Mr. Raza, an electronics industry pioneer with more than 30 years experience. "Connectivity is escalating in both intensity and frequency from the data center all the way to the home. Security is no longer an option, but rather a requirement in every system environment. And a growing bottleneck at the edge requires a much more scalable and cost-effective means of enabling intelligent access to the network. Backed by an elite group of leading technology investors, RMI's goal is to accelerate the transformation of the Information Infrastructure by rapidly developing and delivering the next generation of advanced semiconductor solutions in markets that matter most."
Having identified the key trends driving the next generation of Enterprise, Access and Digital Imaging equipment and services, in 2002 Mr. Raza founded RMI, a fabless semiconductor company designed to enable solutions for this evolving Information Infrastructure. RMI, headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., is staffed by a world-class technical and management team with unparalleled expertise in processor design and technology. The company has more than 150 employees and also has offices in China, India and Japan.
RMI is already generating significant revenues from major customers. The company was initially funded by Benchmark Capital and Warburg Pincus, which has extensive experience in information technology, having invested $2.5 billion in 85 companies. Benchmark and Warburg Pincus participated in each round of financing and were joined in subsequent rounds by Kodiak Venture Partners and Duff Ackerman Goodrich. Board members include Mr. Raza, Bruce Dunlevie, a partner of Benchmark, and Beau Vrolyk and Dr. Henry Kressel, both of whom are Warburg Pincus managing directors.
Dr. Henry Kressel, commenting on the company launch said: "RMI has produced two breakthrough new processor architectures that will revolutionize multiple industries, and the company has shipped hundreds of thousands of a third processor family. In my four decades in this industry, I rank RMI's achievements as truly extraordinary. The company's performance has been stellar and exceeded our expectations."
Bruce Dunlevie, a Benchmark partner, said: "From the beginning, we have been excited by the market and technology vision of Atiq and the extraordinary people in the company. The availability and level of integration and performance of the new processors is a testimony to the company's leadership and vision as well as the amazingly fast execution capabilities of the team."
RMI is now officially announcing its strategic direction in conjunction with the launch of two new product families for the Enterprise and Access markets. Today's product announcements include the XLR(TM) Processor family, the first Thread Processor(TM) architected for Connected Computing, and the Orion(TM) Family of Intelligent Access(TM) Processors enabling new revenue-generating packet service delivery. (Note to Editors: See same day dated press releases, "Raza Microelectronics(TM) Unveils Industry's First Intelligent Access(TM) Processor to Enable the Delivery of New Revenue Generating Packet Services" and "Raza Microelectronics(TM) Unveils Industry's First Thread Processor(TM) Designed for Connected Computing")
RMI -- A Silicon Execution Machine
A key element to RMI's success is the unique ability of the RMI Product Development Team to rapidly deliver flawless advanced semiconductor solutions that enable system manufacturers to quickly respond to rapidly changing market needs. The new XLR Processor and Orion Processor families announced today are proof of RMI's silicon execution expertise. Both products, which are in customers' labs today, are complex, highly-integrated designs incorporating 100's of millions of transistors and built on leading edge TSMC process technology. The XLR Thread Processor, which incorporates 333 million transistors on 90nm CMOS technology, ran 32-way Linux within three days of initial silicon. The Orion Intelligent Access Processor, which utilizes 180 million transistors on 130nm CMOS technology, enabled system demonstrations within five weeks of first silicon. These products are highly manufacturable, testable and conform to very high levels of reliability.
Atiq Raza
Atiq Raza is one of the most well-known and respected semiconductor executives with a track record of innovating next generation processors over his 33-year career. While he was the C.E.O. and Chairman of NexGen, Inc., the company designed and delivered the core architecture for the industry's highest performance x86 microprocessors. Mr. Raza took NexGen public and later merged it with AMD in January of 1996. There he became president, C.O.O. and a board member, where he was responsible for laying the foundation of AMD's processor roadmap and brought the AMD-K6 and Athlon family of processor products to the market.
Prior to joining NexGen, he held various engineering and management positions in the technology industry. Mr. Raza obtained his Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering with honors from the University of London, and a Master's degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University.
He also serves on the board of directors of Matrix Semiconductors, AMI Semiconductor, Mellanox Technologies, Inc., eASIC and TRG.
About RMI
RMI (Raza Microelectronics, Inc.) is an innovative leader in silicon solutions designed to transform the Information Infrastructure. The company's portfolio of products provides the foundation for the next generation of scalable Enterprise, Access and Digital Imaging systems. The XLR(TM) Processor is the first Thread Processor(TM) for Connected Computing while the Orion(TM) Intelligent Access(TM) Processor provides the industry's first integrated solution delivering advanced packet services over existing transport infrastructure. RMI's XL(TM) Processor is a power-efficient solution optimized for advanced digital imaging applications. As a silicon execution machine, RMI's unique ability to rapidly deliver semiconductor solutions enables system manufacturers to quickly respond to changing market needs. RMI is headquartered in Cupertino, California with offices and development centers in China, India and Japan. For more information, please visit www.razamicroelectronics.com.
(C) Copyright 2005 Raza Microelectronics, Inc. All rights reserved. Raza Microelectronics, RMI, the RMI logo, XLR, XL, Orion and the other trademarks named on the RMI website are trademarks of Raza Microelectronics, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Contact:
Raza Microelectronics, Inc. (RMI) Michael Steele, 408-434-5571 Email Contact or CLS Communications Scott Green, 650-679-9044 Email Contact