Palo Alto, Calif. and Leuven, Belgium — January 26, 2004 — IMEC, Europe’s largest independent microelectronics and nanotechnology research center, has spun-out its low power design tool technology for data and memory optimization — also known as ATOMIUM — to PowerEscape, Inc., a Silicon Valley startup founded by Dr. Guido Arnout, president & CEO. Effective immediately, companies interested in commercial deployment of IMEC’s current memory analysis and optimization techniques for low power should contact PowerEscape.

The technology was developed by IMEC to optimize algorithms, software and memory sub-systems for lower power and improved performance in electronic devices such as digital audio, imaging, video and communications. Devices like these, which manipulate massive amounts of data in a small footprint, are proliferating in consumer appliances, industrial applications and infrastructure equipment. Because the vast majority of dynamic energy is consumed in the memory subsystem, it is important that any power optimization tool addresses the performance and power implications of data transport and memory subsystem design.

IMEC and its industrial research partners have used IMEC’s ATOMIUM technology to develop low power devices in a wide range of applications such as digital audio, MPEG-4 and wireless communications. These power optimization projects have proven the technology’s effectiveness — often reducing energy consumption by an order of magnitude while significantly boosting performance.

PowerEscape used the technology licensed from IMEC as the starting point for its new PowerEscape Analyzer product — introduced in a separate announcement today. IMEC will continue its research in power-efficient design technologies such as optimization of the memory hierarchy in single and multi-processor systems, automation of energy-saving loop transformations and the exploitation of concurrency and dynamism in applications. Companies can have early access to new methods and tools years before they become commercially available by entering into a research agreement with IMEC.

“Given the vast experience and in-depth market knowledge of Guido Arnout, who is well known and well respected in the electronics and EDA industries as founder and Chairman of CoWare and co-founder and President of the Open SystemC Initiative (OSCI), we are confident that PowerEscape will be successful in taking this technology to market,” said Rudy Lauwereins, Vice President of Design Technology for Integrated Information and Communication Systems Division, IMEC. “Through PowerEscape, customers will have access to part of IMEC’s memory optimization technology with the benefits of support and service from a commercial tool vendor.”

“IMEC has a proven track record as a pioneer in design methods and tools,” said Guido Arnout, “Their approach of pushing the state-of-the-art to its limits and then applying and calibrating their new findings in concrete development of multimedia and wireless applications — jointly with its industrial research partners — is and will remain a key ingredient of their success. IMEC has consistently demonstrated practical solutions to real design challenges. It is their mission to partner with tool companies such as PowerEscape to turn its technologies into robust and commercially supported products.”

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Notes to editors

About IMEC

IMEC is a world leading independent research center in nanoelectronics and nanotechnology. Its research focuses on the next-generation of chips and systems, and on the enabling technologies for ambient intelligence. IMEC’s research bridges the gap between fundamental research at universities and technology development in industry. Its unique balance of processing and system know-how, intellectual property portfolio, state-of-the-art infrastructure and a strong network of companies, universities and research institutes worldwide, positions IMEC as a key partner with which to develop and improve technologies for future systems.

IMEC is headquartered in Leuven, Belgium and has representatives in the US, China and Japan. Its staff of more than 1300 people includes over 380 industrial residents and guest researchers. In 2003, its revenues were EUR 145 million. Further information on IMEC can be found on www.imec.be.

About PowerEscape

PowerEscape, Inc. was founded in 2003 to develop, market and sell a new generation of design tools that enable system architects, algorithm designers, and software developers to dramatically reduce power consumption and increase performance in electronic appliances and systems. PowerEscape, Inc. is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif. For more information, visit www.powerescape.com.

For more information:

Katrien Marent

Corporate Communications Manager, IMEC vzw

Kapeldreef 75, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium

Tel +32 16 28 18 80 Fax +32 16 28 16 37

Katrien.Marent@imec.be

Jen Bernier, Armstrong Kendall, Inc.

PR Director for PowerEscape

408-268-8772

jen@armstrongkendall.com