press release

 

PortalPlayer Announces Opening of Design and Development Center in India

 

Santa Clara, Calif., Jan. 27, 2000 -- PortalPlayer, Inc., a Silicon Valley-based supplier of end-to-end solutions for delivering Internet-based digital audio and video to consumers, today announced the inauguration of the PortalPlayer Private Ltd. design and development center in Hyderabad, India. Portalplayer Private Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Portal Player, Inc. In addition to hardware and software product engineering, the new facility will encompass corporate support functions, such as administrative, financial and human resources departments.

"PortalPlayer is committed to being a leader in developing products and services that enable downloading and streaming of audio and video from the Internet to consumers," said John Mallard, president and CEO of PortalPlayer. "The engineering talent base in India is second to none, and establishing a local presence is the most efficient way for us to utilize it to achieve our goals. We're very pleased that, working with the governments of India and the state Andhra Pradesh, we've been able to make this a reality."

"India has the greatest number of skilled, highly qualified software developers in the world, with the many technical institutes producing thousands of information technology professionals a year," said Dr. Venkat Rayapati, PortalPlayer's Vice President of Engineering and Chief Technical Officer. "Because we offer complete end-to-end solutions that are very software-intensive, this resource pool is very important to us, and the company is setting itself up to become a leader in product development using that talent."

The Hyderabad facility offers 10,000 square feet of space for development and administrative activities. An additional 10,000 square feet is planned to be added to accommodate future expansion. Initially, the center will employ 44 software architects and engineers. Expansion to more than 160 is planned within 18 months.

"We are looking for a full range of information technology professionals who are keenly interested in helping to build the worldwide digital media infrastructure, including software and ASIC engineers, project managers and firmware architects, especially those with communications technology strengths," said J.A. Chowdary, President and Managing Director of PortalPlayer Private Ltd. "In addition, we need personnel with a wide range of administrative and other such skills."

About PortalPlayer, Inc.

PortalPlayer, Inc. develops and supplies complete end-to-end media infrastructure solutions for delivering Internet-based digital audio and video to consumers. The solutions include applications that directly connect to the leading music and content Web sites, media management software, firmware, and semiconductors. The company's initial focus is on MP3 player/recorder devices, such as portable MP3 players, home entertainment systems, and cellular phones.

Founded in July 1999 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, PortalPlayer, Inc., also has operations in Seattle, Washington, and Hyderabad, India. The company received its first round of funding from Chase Capital, Techfund, and FlatIron Partners. More information on PortalPlayer, Inc., and its products is available on the company's Web site, www.portalplayer.com.

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