Siemens to market Zoran's new compression integrated circuits; Siemens Semiconductor strengthens position in multimedia IC market

Business Wire, April 18, 1995

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 1995--Siemens Semiconductor of Munich and Berlin, Germany, and Zoran Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif. and Haifa, Israel, have announced a marketing agreement in which Siemens will market worldwide (except Japan) Zoran's newly developed compression integrated circuits (ICs) for multimedia applications for personal computers and consumer applications.

Products included in the marketing agreement are an MPEG1 system and video decoder, JPEG coders and decoders, Dolby AC-3 audio decoders and multimedia controllers that connect these products to different personal computer busses. The agreement is effective immediately.

With this agreement, Siemens strengthens its position in the emerging market for multimedia ICs by having immediate access to an established product line.

"Zoran's products and knowledge combined with our broad product portfolio and worldwide sales channels will give our customers a reliable but also leading edge alternative in this emerging market," said Dr. Alex Leupp, president, Siemens Components. "And we see other joint possibilities for Siemens and Zoran in the future."

The agreement is part of Zoran's long-standing strategy of partnering with leading consumer electronics companies to broaden its reach into the worldwide market for high-performance, cost-sensitive video and audio compression products. "We are proud that an established and credible semiconductor giant like Siemens has selected Zoran as the vehicle to entry into multimedia," said Dr. Levy Gerzberg, president and CEO, Zoran Corporation. "We are confident that Siemens' backing and support coupled with their worldwide sales capability will significantly enhance our market presence." The relationship with Siemens Semiconductor is expected to further establish Zoran products as a de facto standard in their target markets.

Zoran products are used primarily in the rapidly growing add-in multimedia board market in the U.S., Europe and Japan and in the consumer markets of digital still cameras and multi-channel digital audio decoders worldwide. Among Zoran's customers for these products are Dolby Labs (USA), Radius/SuperMac (USA), Media Magic (IPC (USA/Singapore), Fast Multimedia (Germany), Spea (Germany), FUJIFILM Microdevices (Japan), Pioneer Electronics and others.

Siemens marketing efforts will be based in Cupertino, Calif. Siemens Semiconductors, a market leader in communications ICs, expects to focus on multimedia applications such as those for personal computers and consumer applications, standalone CD-ROM players and set-top boxes. "One big advantage to Siemens' customers is Siemens' commitment to DRAM technology, which will be key to develop and produce the next generation of multimedia IC products," further explained Dr. Leupp.

For product information, contact Siemens at 800/777-SIEMENS or Zoran at 800/228-1314.

Siemens Semiconductor is a leading supplier of electronic components for automotive, communications, consumer electronics, data processing, embedded control and memory applications worldwide. In the U.S., Siemens Components is an operating company of Siemens Corporation (USA), which recorded sales of $7.3 billion in fiscal year 1993/94 in the U.S. Siemens Corporation is the U.S. holding company for Siemens AG, Berlin/Munich, which had worldwide sales of $51.3 billion for the same period.

Zoran Corporation designs, manufactures and markets very large scale (VLSI) integrated circuit products for high-performance low-cost digital video and audio compression applications. Markets for Zoran devices include multimedia computers, video editing, video conferencing, scanners, printers, digital cameras, cable TV, and digital audio systems. Zoran is committed to continued development of its family of video and audio compression devices. This includes JPEG codecs, MPEG video decoders, and AC-3 and MPEG audio compression devices for emerging multimedia and consumer markets. Established in 1983, Zoran is a privately held company with headquarters in Santa Clara, California and operations in Haifa, Israel.

CONTACT: Siemens Corporation

Anita Giani, 408/777-4546

or

Zoran Corporation

Levy Gerzberg, 408/986-1314