From:	 Annette Oevermann <aoevermann@pacifico.com>
To:	 <lwn@lwn.net>
Subject: Panasonic Invests in MontaVista Software
Date:	 Tue, 12 Mar 2002 09:10:09 -0800

Hello,
MontaVista Software announced today that Panasonic Digital Concepts Center
(PDCC) has made an equity investment in the company, joining a group of
high-profile investors -- including IBM, Sony, US Venture Partners, and
others -- who also invested in MontaVista Software in its third round of
funding announced earlier this year.

Panasonic represents one of two main markets MontaVista is targeting for its
Linux offerings. Consumer electronics and communications infrastructure are
the two markets the company believes hold the most opportunity for Linux, as
manufacturers of high-volume, competitively priced consumer electronics
devices especially appreciate the non-proprietary nature of Linux.

For more details please see the release included below.

With kind regards,
Annette Oevermann
Pacifico, Inc.
(408) 293 8600 x341

Panasonic Takes Equity Stake in MontaVista Software
Reinforces MontaVista drive to target next-generation consumer products

SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 12, 2002 ‹MontaVista Software, the company powering
the embedded revolution announced it had received an equity investment from
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (MEI) through its subsidiary,
Panasonic Digital Concepts Center (PDCC).

MontaVista Software is focused on meeting the needs of developers of the
next generation digital consumer devices.  Development of consumer products
such as mobile smart phones, wireless PDAs, set-top boxes and more are
characterized by the demand for smaller footprints, improved performance,
lower power consumption, flexible and scalable architectures, robustness and
openness.  Using proprietary solutions, these new consumer devices are not
merely more complex but in fact more costly to design and develop.
MontaVista Software offers a portfolio of Linux-based solutions, which can
minimize deployment cost and time to market constraints.

³As embedded applications become more network oriented, consumer electronics
companies are looking to Linux as a robust and cost-effective development
platform,² said Charles C. Wu, Managing Director, Investments, of PDCC.
³Panasonic Digital Concepts Center recognizes the tremendous traction that
MontaVista has gained in the increasingly important area of embedded
software solutions.  We look forward to a strategic relationship that will
meld MontaVista Software¹s strengths with Panasonic¹s global leadership in
consumer electronics.²

MEI joins a list of high-profile investors, including IBM, Sony, US Venture
Partners, and others who also invested in MontaVista Software in its third
round of funding announced earlier this year.
(Refer to http://www.mvista.com/news/2002/MV_Fund.html)

³Consumer electronics and communications infrastructure are the two markets
we believe hold the most opportunity for Linux,² said Jim Ready, MontaVista
CEO and embedded industry pioneer.  ³Manufacturers of high-volume,
competitively priced consumer electronics devices especially appreciate the
non-proprietary nature of Linux, which does not lock them in to paying
royalties and licensing fees.²

About MontaVista� Linux®

MontaVista Linux, the company¹s flagship product boasts unrivaled
development support for the broadest range of embedded processor
architectures, supporting more than 22 CPUs, over a dozen desktop hosts,
more than 60 COTS and reference board platforms and including in excess of
215 application packages.  This feature-rich product enables a wide variety
of embedded applications, providing a standard platform for designs in
communications infrastructure, networking, consumer electronics,
instrumentation and control.

About Panasonic Digital Concepts Center

Panasonic Digital Concepts Center is a business unit of New Jersey-based
Panasonic Technologies Co, which is itself a division of Matsushita Electric
Corporation of America.  The Center directs Matsushita Electric investment
and incubates technologies and services that provide value for the next
generation of networked consumers. Drawing on Matsushita Electric's rich
consumer electronics heritage and the Panasonic brand name, the Center
brings a consumer sensibility to Silicon Valley technology innovations.
Panasonic Digital Concepts Center offers its early-stage portfolio companies
incubator facilities in Cupertino and San Francisco CA, start-up expertise,
and access to service providers including Matsushita Electric's deep
manufacturing and R&D resources.  In addition, Matsushita Electric recently
renewed its' commitment to support the growth of the Center¹s portfolio
companies by initiating Phase II of the Panasonic Venture fund.  Panasonic
Digital Concepts Center also serves as a home base for various Matsushita
Electric divisions seeking to develop alliances with key Silicon Valley
partners.  Additional information is available at
http://www.vc.panasonic.com.

About Matsushita Electric Industrial Company, Ltd. ("Panasonic")

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC), best known for its
Panasonic brand, is a worldwide leader in the development of technologies
for and the production of electronic and electric products for consumer,
business and industrial use.  The company recorded sales of $61.45 billion
for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001. Additional information about
Matsushita Electric and its Panasonic brand products is available at
www.panasonic.com.

About MontaVista Software, Inc.

MontaVista Software Inc. powers the embedded revolution by providing
open-source systems software solutions for embedded developers. Founded in
1999 by real-time operating system (RTOS) pioneer James Ready, MontaVista's
principal products include MontaVista� Linux®, a Linux-based embedded source
and binary distribution, cross development platform and set of tool kits for
x86/IA-32, PowerPC, StrongARM, MIPS, SH, ARM, XScale and other
microprocessor architectures. MontaVista offers a family of products and
services for embedded design and development of applications for a variety
of technologies ranging from communications infrastructure to consumer
devices. MontaVista Software also provides several technology add-on
products addressing specific customer needs such as the Java development
environment, High Availability technology, powerful graphics toolkits and
more.

Headquartered in the heart of Silicon Valley in Sunnyvale, Calif.,
MontaVista Software is a privately held company funded by leading investors
such as Alloy Ventures, RRE Ventures, US Venture Partners, and WR Hambrecht
+ Co., as well as IBM, Intel Capital and Sony Corporation. For more
information about MontaVista Software, please visit http://www.mvista.com,
email to info@mvista.com
or call (408) 328-9200.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. MontaVista is a trademark
of MontaVista Software Inc. All other names mentioned are trademarks,
registered trademarks or service marks of their respective companies.

Contacts:

Panasonic Digital Concepts Center:
Patricia Carberry-Harris
Panasonic Digital Concepts Center
pch@vc.panasonic.com
408-861-3909

MontaVista Software:
Joe Samagond
Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications
MontaVista Software Inc.
Phone (408) 328-9234
E-mail: jsamagond@mvista.com

Patricia Colby
PR Strategy and Business Development
Pacifico Inc. 
Phone (408) 293-8600 ext. 340
E-mail: pcolby@pacifico.com