Seoul, Korea, January 31, 2001
Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. (HEI) announced yesterday that it will partner with a local venture firm, WIZnet Inc., in developing and marketing non-memory Internet access chips. WIZnet Inc. specializes in developing hardware chips utilized for accessing the Internet. The companies plan to jointly market TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) software chips developed by HEI and hardware chips developed by WIZnet. Intent on one day leading the Internet market, both corporations plan to extend cooperation on development and manufacturing well into the future. TCP/IP is the de facto communication protocol standard in computer networks. The HEI software chip, ‘Spider HMS91C7432’, jointly developed with a Hong Kong based chip developer, eVision, is an 8 bit Micro Control Unit (MCU) semiconductor with TCP/IP built-in, thus providing Internet access application. The WIZnet hardware chip, ‘i2Chip Ether 3100,’ is equipped with various protocols enabling data transmission at up to 10Mbps. Faster than existing TCP/IP software, the WIZnet chip also provides Internet access in non-PC environments. HEI and WIZnet intend to produce more than 200,000 units per month. They are also co-developing an SoC (System-on-Chip) using MCU technology from HEI and TCP/IP hardware technology from WIZnet. This latter product will provide a low-cost, high-speed alternative for applications such as web cam, Internet TV, and voice over IP. This growing market is anticipated to produce 13 million components this year. The two companies expect sales of US$130 billion over the next three years. About Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. (HEI) of Ichon, Korea is an industry leader in the development, sales, marketing, and distribution of high-quality Semiconductors (including DRAM, SRAM, Flash memory, and System IC devices), Telecommunications, and Liquid Crystal Displays. The Semiconductor Group of Hyundai Electronics is the world’s largest DRAM supplier with eleven semiconductor manufacturing facilities worldwide, and production capacity of over 300,000 wafer starts per month. In addition, Hyundai is expanding its System IC business unit with leading technology and added deep-submicron foundry services to strategically broaden its overall semiconductor presence and achieve its goal of leading the global semiconductor market. Based in Korea, HEI maintains development, manufacturing, sales, and marketing facilities strategically located worldwide.
