Transmeta Bolsters Overseas Connections

Chipmaker Transmeta this week expanded its presence outside U.S. borders this week with significant partnerships in China and Europe.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based firm said it has entered into an agreement to allow Chinese 2000 Holdings Ltd. to develop and market Transmeta’s Midori Linux version of the Linux operating system for mobile and embedded devices in China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Transmeta also said it has established an equity ownership in Chinese 2000 Holdings and a multi-year profit sharing arrangement relating to the sale of Midori Linux-based services and support.

Midori Linux, which made its debut in March 2001, is Transmeta’s option for devices requiring Linux compatibility, energy efficiency, low thermals and a small form factor. Commercialized by the company’s Linux development team, one of the company’s key contributions to Midori Linux includes the creation of ACPI power management states, which are important features in products requiring minimal power consumption.

Transmeta president and CEO Dr. Matthew Perry said the partnership’s development and marketing will focus on China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

“One of Transmeta’s top priorities is to support customer needs in the Chinese market and other major Asian regions,” said Corporation. “Transmeta’s unique combination of microprocessor, system-level and Linux expertise, coupled with Chinese 2000 Holdings’ experience in the Asian markets, make a formidable partnership.

In addition to using its Midori Linux, Chinese 2000 said it is using or plans on using Transmet’s Crusoe and next-generation Astro chips in notebooks, ultra personal computers and set-top boxes, as well as many other potential applications.

Earlier in the week, Transmeta said it had secured contracts with three European-based design firms to support what the company says are “aggressive growth plans for the region.”

The firms, IO Technologies, Marek Micro and Technology Rescue are expected to add to Transmeta’s growing portfolio of infrastructure support for its x86-compatible embedded designs.

Some of the embedded plans include industrial automation, scientific instrumentation, retail kiosks, point-of-sale terminals, automotive infotainment, process control and home automation systems.

“Our firm has already implemented several projects based on Transmeta’s technology, including BIOS development for the recently announced VoiceCom VoiceButler,” said Marek Micro general manager Peter Marek. “We expect tremendous opportunities for Transmeta’s processors for embedded systems in the German and European markets. Marek Micro can help customers speed up time-to-market by supporting them with our years experience in x86 and embedded hardware and software design.”

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