NEC Partners with Erlang Technology

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- NEC today announced it has entered a strategic partnership with Erlang Technology Inc. to deliver high-performance switch-fabric solutions. NEC Corporation has participated in Erlang Technology's Series A investment for product development and promotion, and Kyuichi Hareyama, general manager of NEC Corporation's 2nd System LSI Division, will serve on Erlang Technology's board of directors. The two companies intend to jointly market switch-fabric solutions on a worldwide basis. Additionally, NEC Electronics has executed an agreement with Erlang Technology to become the ASIC supplier and sole North American distributor of Erlang's high-performance switch-fabric semiconductor components. This partnership will expand NEC's current broadband communications product offering to include switching and routing solutions based on Erlang's leading-edge switch-fabric technology and give NEC entry into the optical-networking space. The products manufactured through this partnership will be targeted toward enterprise and carrier-class OEMs designing products such as multi-service switches and routers, metropolitan optical network equipment, IP service platforms and edge access equipment. The first product to be created through this partnership, the Se switch-fabric chipset, was also announced today. "NEC Corporation's investment in Erlang Technology will allow us to augment our current high-end communications product offering," said Mr. Hareyama. "Furthermore, the partnership will allow Erlang to focus its resources on developing the switch-fabric technologies that will power the networks of the future." NEC Electronics Inc.