SANTA CLARA, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 06/22/09 -- Tensilica®, Inc. today announced
that DOCOMO Capital, Inc. has
made a strategic investment in Tensilica. DOCOMO Capital is the corporate
venture arm of NTT DOCOMO, Japan's leading wireless carrier. Tensilica is a
major semiconductor IP (intellectual property) supplier specializing in
dataplane processor cores, which are a combination of CPU (central
processing unit) and DSP (digital signal processor) that can be rapidly
customized to provide 10-100x the performance of standard CPUs and DSPs.
Tensilica's DPUs
(dataplane processing units) are widely used in system-on-chip (SoC)
designs for mobile consumer devices.
"We recognize the growing importance of Tensilica's customizable DPUs for
semiconductors that enable lower power and innovative mobile devices, and
that's why we made this investment," stated Tomoya Hemmi, president and
CEO, DOCOMO Capital. "Tensilica's high-performance DPUs for audio, video
and baseband functions will be key enablers for new capabilities and
increased battery life in future mobile telephones."
"NTT DOCOMO is well respected for its deep involvement in the holistic
design of its mobile networks, down to the algorithms, semiconductors and
systems technology employed in the handsets. We are excited about our new,
closer relationship with this tech savvy carrier and work with them to
drive new technology and the early deployment of new standards," stated
Jack Guedj, Tensilica's president and CEO. "We are also pleased that our
major capital investors -- Foundation Capital, Meritech Capital Partners,
Oak Investment Partners and Worldview Technology Partners -- participated
along with DOCOMO Capital in this financing round."
Tensilica, Inc. is a privately held company. The Gartner Group, in its
March 2009 report on the semiconductor IP market, recognized Tensilica as
the fastest-growing semiconductor IP supplier.
About DOCOMO Capital
DOCOMO Capital, Inc. is a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of NTT DOCOMO, INC.
(NYSE: DCM), the leading wireless network operator based in Japan. Working
closely with NTT DOCOMO's business and R&D divisions, DOCOMO Capital is in
charge of NTT DOCOMO's strategic investments in mobile communications
related start-up companies mainly in the United States. For more
information, visit www.docomo-capital.com.
About Tensilica
Tensilica, Inc. -- the leader in customizable dataplane processors -- is a
semiconductor IP licensor recognized by the Gartner Group as the fastest
growing semiconductor IP supplier in 2008.
