ZeroG Wireless and Microchip Technology Upgrade Embedded Wi-Fi Development Kit Software

Low-Power Embedded Wi-Fi Made Even Easier

SUNNYVALE, Calif. and CHANDLER, Ariz., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- ZeroG Wireless, Inc., an innovator in low-power embedded Wi-Fi, and Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MCHP), a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, today announced the availability of the next generation of production qualified software for the companies' joint development kit. Introduced only five months ago, the easy-to-implement, low-power, Wi-Fi connectivity kits have already been shipped to 900 customers, and products using the ZeroG "Wi-Fi I/O" have now gone into production, beating the typical 12-18 month development cycle.

The new development kit software, version 5.2, provides customers with more options to increase throughput and usability. The development kit supports Microchip's new PIC32MX5, 6, and 7 32-bit microcontroller families, also announced today, allowing customers to dynamically switch between Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity. In addition, the upgrades give designers an easier way to build systems with multiple connectivity protocols, and offer browser-based configuration of Wi-Fi network access.

"There was strong customer interest in a low-power Wi-Fi solution for our PIC(®) microcontrollers, and orders of the development kit have exceeded our expectations," said Rodger Richey, director of applications at Microchip Technology. "To continue delivering a superior product, and based on customer feedback, ZeroG Wireless and Microchip have increased the throughput, and made a number of usability enhancements to the software."

"Leveraging the newly released PIC32 MCU families allows customers to dynamically switch between Ethernet and Wi-Fi, which really brings a lot of flexibility to systems designers creating products that can easily move between wired and wireless networks," said Tim Colleran, vice president of marketing, ZeroG Wireless.

Availability and Pricing

Version 5.2 of the development kit software is available at http://www.microchip.com/Wireless. . For existing customers, it is a no-cost upgrade. New customers have a choice of development tools and kits that start at $69.

About ZeroG Wireless, Inc.

ZeroG Wireless is a fabless semiconductor company focused on creating a world of connected devices, the "Internet of Things." With ZeroG low-power Wi-Fi chips, there is no limit to the type of device that can now leverage the massive and rapidly growing Wi-Fi infrastructure. The Company's products are designed from the ground up to enable simple, low-cost connectivity for nearly any system, regardless of architecture. The result: faster time to market and significantly lower overall system cost.

Privately held, ZeroG Wireless is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. Investors are Battery Ventures, Greylock Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures, and Miven. Additional information may be found at www.zerogwireless.com.

About Microchip Technology Inc.

Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller and analog semiconductors, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Ariz., Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at http://www.microchip.com.

The Microchip name and logo, and PIC are registered trademarks of Microchip Technology Inc. in the USA and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective companies.

SOURCE ZeroG Wireless, Inc.; Microchip Technology Inc.

Released November 18, 2009