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Phison Electronics Adopts ARC’s Configurable 605 Core For Next Generation Flash NAND Drives

Phison Strengthens ARC's Position as One of the Leading Processor Architectures for Flash and USB Devices

ELSTREE, England, March 28, 2007 – ARC International (LSE: ARK) today announced that Phison Electronics Corp., one of Taiwan's top fabless semiconductor companies and winner of the "Gold Medal" Award by Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs, has adopted the configurable ARC® 605 core for development of Phison's next-generation NAND devices. Phison selected it after a thorough evaluation showed the configurable ARC 605 core offers a smaller gate count and lower power consumption compared to competitive offerings, and because of ARC's leadership position in the flash storage market for memory devices incorporating a 32-bit microprocessor. This announcement is part of a series of new licensing agreements with semiconductor companies throughout Asia made today by ARC International. See companion news release dated March 28, 2007 for more details.

ARC's configurable processor architecture is widely recognized as a de facto standard for flash memory products because of its ability to provide customers a competitive advantage through the creation of devices that are unique and clone resistant. Phison's adoption of ARC's configurable 605 core strengthens ARC's leadership position in the flash market where tens of millions of ARC-Based™ products are shipped annually from ARC customers.

Ayck AW Yong, vice president of R&D at Phison Electronics Corp., said, "Phison has maintained the leading edge in USB and NAND flash applications by providing advanced technology. ARC's configurable processor brings our next-generation devices the benefits of a more advanced 32-bit solution, which will help us maintain a competitive advantage and increase our share of this rapidly growing market."

Derek Meyer, senior vice president of sales and marketing at ARC International, said, "This is another milestone for ARC as we continue to experience rapid adoption of our patented configurable processor technology within Taiwan's fabless semiconductor industry. Furthermore, this underscores the ongoing trend of industry leaders that are using ARC to develop innovative and unique solutions for high-growth applications. We welcome Phison to the ARC community and look forward to their success with ARC-Based solutions in the coming years."

The Configurable ARC® 605 Core
The ARC 605 processor core is an ultra low power, ultra small configurable 32-bit core. In a 0.13 micron process, it offers a maximum clock frequency of 400 MHz, power consumption of 0.06 mW/MHz and a die size of 0.31mm2. The configurable ARC 605 core is ideal for a wide range of embedded control and computing functions within SoCs. The core is designed for hard real-time processing, where high speed and deterministic response are required.

All of ARC's cores are created with ARChitect™ - ARC's revolutionary patented configuration tool. ARChitect's GUI-based development environment offers SoC designers a simple drag-and-drop menu from which they can select from up to 20,000+ pre-configured options or create custom instruction extensions that are optimized to the ARCompact™ ISA. In minutes, customers can use ARChitect to create a highly differentiated, proprietary ARC-Based™ processor that provides a competitive advantage while consuming less power and containing fewer transistors than fixed architecture alternatives.

About ARC International plc
ARC International is the world leader in configurable subsystems and CPU/DSP processors that are used by semiconductor companies worldwide to create system-on-chip (SoC) designs that provide a strategic competitive advantage. ARC's patented configurable products are smaller, consume less power, are less expensive to manufacture, and provide a higher degree of differentiation over what can be created using "fixed architecture" core alternatives.

ARC International maintains a worldwide presence with corporate and research and development offices in California and Elstree, UK. For more information visit www.ARC.com. ARC International is listed on the London Stock Exchange as ARC International plc (LSE: ARK).

ARC and the ARC logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ARC International. All other brands or product names contained herein are the property of their respective owners. This press release may contain certain "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties, including the development, implementation, and release of features described herein. These are at the sole discretion of ARC International. Licenses from 3rd parties for certain software and essential patents may be required depending on licensee's use/implementation. For other factors that could cause actual results to differ, visit the company's Website as well as the listing particulars filed with the United Kingdom Listing Authority and the Registrar of Companies in England and Wales.