Spansion and SK Hynix Announce Strategic NAND Alliance

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Spansion Inc. (NYSE: CODE) and SK Hynix today announced an alliance to deliver Spansion SLC NAND products at the 4x, 3x, and 2x nodes to the embedded market.  The first Spansion® SLC NAND products resulting from this alliance will be available beginning in the second quarter of 2012.  As part of the relationship, the companies will enter into a patent cross-licensing agreement.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20060118/SFW077LOGO)

Spansion's NAND products complement its NOR offering and complete its product line, which is targeted at embedded applications such as automotive, industrial and telecommunications.  Spansion's high performance and high reliability SLC NAND product portfolio will come with Spansion's recognized customer support and commitment for longevity of supply, which is highly valued in the embedded market, where Spansion has established relationships.  Spansion will apply its stringent process for qualification, testing, extended temperature support and packaging to its NAND products. The company plans to introduce a family of NAND products over the next few quarters.

"As demand for NAND memory grows in embedded segments, we are well positioned as we continue to broaden our portfolio of Flash memory products to meet the stringent requirements of the embedded industry," said John Kispert, president and CEO of Spansion.  "Our cooperation with SK Hynix will enable us to expand our leadership in the embedded market with serial NOR, parallel NOR and now SLC NAND products." 

Spansion will continue developing its charge-trapping NAND technology.  

"We look forward to partnering with Spansion and leveraging each other's strengths," said Oh Chul Kwon, President and CEO of SK Hynix.  "Together we can deliver innovative NAND products to the embedded market- combining Spansion's leadership position and established customer relationships across multiple embedded segments with SK Hynix's NAND manufacturing size and scale."

Resources:

Photo of Spansion SK Hynix signing ceremony: http://news.spansion.com/image_gallery
Spansion Flash memory products:  http://www.spansion.com/Products/
Spansion newsroom:  http://news.spansion.com/
Spansion blog:  http://blog.spansion.com 
Spansion on Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/Spansion  
Spansion on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/Spansion

About SK Hynix Inc.

SK Hynix Inc., Korea, is the world's top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips ("DRAM"), Flash memory chips ("NAND Flash") and CMOS Image Sensors ("CIS") for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company's shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxemburg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK Hynix is available at www.skhynix.com.

About Spansion

Spansion (NYSE: CODE) is a leading provider of the Flash memory technology at the heart of the world's electronics systems, powering everything from the routers that run the internet to the highly interactive and immersive consumer and automotive electronics that are enriching people's daily lives. Spansion's broad and differentiated Flash memory product portfolio, award-winning MirrorBit charge-trapping technology, and industry leading service and support are enabling customers to achieve greater efficiency and success in their target markets. For more information, visit http://www.spansion.com.

Spansion(R), the Spansion logo, MirrorBit(R), and combinations thereof, are trademarks and registered trademarks of Spansion LLC in the United States and other countries. Other names used are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Spansion Inc.