Infineon and ARM Announce Strategic Architectural License Agreement for Advanced Security Applications

Joint news release by Infineon Technologies and ARM

Nov 17, 2009 | Market News

Neubiberg, Germany and Cambridge, UK – November 17, 2009 – Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) and ARM (LSE: ARM /Nasdaq: ARMH) announced today a long-term strategic collaboration in the field of security controllers for chip card and security applications. Based on the agreement, Infineon will receive an ARMv6M and ARMv7M architecture license. With its own specialized ARM® architecture-compliant CPU cores, Infineon will address the current and future needs of the security markets in terms of hardware-based security, combined with the advantages of the industry’s most widely licensed 32-bit CPU technology.


Infineon is the only ARM partner to have an ARM architecture license specifically for security applications. Under this agreement, Infineon is able to integrate its innovative security measures into the heart of the CPU core implementation, while maintaining compatibility with the standard ARM processor instruction set. This approach enables code reuse and access to the wide ARM development ecosystem. Infineon aims to have the first products in volume production by the second half of 2011, initially targeting the Multimedia SIM cards market. In addition, Infineon will combine the ARM architecture and its “Integrity Guard” hardware security technology, designed for use in highly demanding chip card-based and security applications, in future products for high-end security segments.


“With this strategic cooperation, Infineon consequently follows its strategy to base its security products on its own cores. We will create proprietary security cores which combine our state-of-the-art security features along with the specific benefits of the ARM architecture, offering high performance, low power and the ARM ecosystem,” said Dr. Helmut Gassel, President of the Chip Card & Security Division at Infineon Technologies. “In the forefront of hardware-based security developments, Infineon will continue to drive innovation, resulting in superior security products for the benefit of our customers.”


“Our agreement with Infineon is a clear demonstration of collaborative differentiation further extending the applicability of the ARM architecture to the most demanding security applications,” said Mike Inglis, EVP and GM, Processor Division, ARM. “We continue to enjoy considerable success in the smartcard market with our SecurCore™ processors and our collaboration with Infineon is an element of our ongoing strategy to enable developers in the embedded security market to be able to utilize the ARM architecture in their future designs.”


ARM and Infineon look back on almost a decade of cooperation, mainly in wireless communication applications.


Together with energy efficiency and communication, security is one of the three focus areas of Infineon. Infineon is the number one chip card semiconductor vendor, with 25.5 percent of the worldwide market valued at US$2.4 billion in 2008. The company is contributing its quarter-century of security expertise to the effort to increase the security of today's solutions in communications, payment and banking, reliable identification of persons and goods, access protection for data and networks, and digital home entertainment electronics.


About ARM


ARM designs the technology that lies at the heart of advanced digital products, from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging, automotive, security and storage devices. ARM’s comprehensive product offering includes 32-bit RISC microprocessors, graphics processors, enabling software, cell libraries, embedded memories, high-speed connectivity products, peripherals and development tools. Combined with comprehensive design services, training, support and maintenance, and the company’s broad Partner community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com.


ARM is a registered trademark of ARM Limited. Cortex, SC100, SC300 and SecurCore are trademarks of ARM Limited. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. “ ARM" is used to represent ARM Holdings plc; its operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries ARM Inc.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Limited.; ARM Taiwan Limited; ARM France SAS; ARM Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.; ARM Belgium N.V.; ARM Germany GmbH; ARM Embedded Technologies Pvt. Ltd.; ARM Norway, AS and ARM Sweden AB


Contact Details at ARM:


Alan Tringham

+44 1223 400947

alan.tringham@arm.com


Charlene Marini

+1 408-576-1131

charlene.marini@arm.com

About Infineon

Infineon Technologies AG, Neubiberg, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions addressing three central challenges to modern society: energy efficiency, communications, and security. In the 2008 fiscal year (ending September), the company reported sales of Euro 4.3 billion with approximately 29,100 employees worldwide. With a global presence, Infineon operates through its subsidiaries in the U.S. from Milpitas, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore, and in Japan from Tokyo. Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the over-the-counter market OTCQX International Premier (ticker symbol: IFNNY).

Information Number

INFCCS200911.009