Agreement enables access to leading ARM processor for start-up companies

CHUNGBUK, KOREA- — December 02, 2009 — SoC R&D Center in Chungbuk Technopark (CBTP) a non-profit local government foundation in Chungbuk Province, today announced that they have licensed the ARM® Cortex™-M0 processor.
The licensing agreement will enable CBTP to accelerate innovation based on the Cortex-M0 processor for Korean start-up companies, and fabless companies currently designing MCUs based on 8- or 16-bit architectures.

The Cortex-M0 processor is the lowest power and smallest 32-bit ARM processor. It offers ultra low-power, energy-efficiency and low gate count, with binary upwards compatibility with the higher performance ARM Cortex-M3 processor.

“CBTP’s support for the ARM Cortex-M0 processor is already creating huge interest in the Korean semiconductor industry.” said Jong Sung Lim, CEO of CBTP. “By offering the ARM Cortex-M0 processor, CBTP are able to further accelerate the growth of fabless companies in Korea.”

“The agreement between ARM and CBTP marks the beginning of an important partnership” said Joo Sock Lee, Director of SoC R&D center in CBTP. ”Offering ARM Cortex-M0 is a key strategy in our mission to stimulate the growth of Korean fabless companies in Chungbuk province – and realize our vision of creating Korea's silicon valley”.

“This agreement has been specifically designed to enable wider access to ARM processor IP for smaller Korean MCU design companies,” said Sam Kim, President, ARM Korea. “The suitability of the Cortex-M0 processor for ultra low power, low-cost applications, combined with the broad ecosystem of silicon, tools, software and middleware vendors, makes it an ideal choice for companies who are looking to move on from 8- or 16-bit technology to achieve higher performance without sacrificing area or low power consumption.”

About Chungbuk Technopark

Chungbuk Technopark leads the way of fostering strategic industries, hauling the growth of the local economy, and executing balanced regional development to achieve the self sustainable regional development eventually. Established on August 1, 2004, CBTP stimulates regional innovation and growth in the Chungbuk economy.

SoC R&D Center established on October 1, 2006, focus on the design support of fabless companies in Korea. The Center provides EDA Tools, Emulator, Simulation Accelerator, and commercial IPs to fabless companies. Also, the Center establishes and provides technology and information networking, and helps to establish and incubate fabless companies.