Licenses

Arc International PLC
13 March 2001


ARC International licenses its microprocessor to Palmchip for use in MP3 Player
                             SOC hardware platform


Elstree, England - March 13, 2001 - ARC International plc (LSE:ARK), a leading
designer and developer of customisable, high-performance microprocessors and
related intellectual property solutions, announced today that Palmchip
Corporation, a leader in SOC (system-on-chip) development platforms has
licensed ARC's 32-bit RISC/DSP processor.

Palmchip and ARC will jointly market the highly integrated SOC platform
solution for portable audio applications. International Data Corp. predicts
that the US market for MP3 devices (a means of compressing musical data for
transmission) in the United States device market will grow from the estimated
1.3 million units shipped in 2000 to 6.7 million in 2003. Low power and data
compression requirements make it an ideal target market for embedded solutions.
The combination of ARC's processor and MP3 software with Palmchip's integration
architecture is ideal for low-power audio devices.

'Palmchip offers a highly competitive plug-and-play SOC solution,' said Jim
Turley, senior vice president of technology, ARC. 'Our partnership with
Palmchip demonstrates our continued commitment to developing strategic
alliances with innovative companies so we can provide our customers with a
broad range of leading-edge SOC solutions.'

'Adding ARC's processor to an application-targeted PalmPakTM SOC development
platform provides designers with a highly integrated and flexible solution for
portable audio device applications,' said Melissa Jones, vice president of
marketing, Palmchip Corporation. 'Our hardware platform allows the customer to
select software from a source of their choice and move quickly into silicon.'
Jones added, 'An important advantage to a platform-based design with a
configurable processor is that designers will be able to comply easily with
changing requirements in the market, such as products specifications that
evolve within the Secure Digital Music Initiative.'

Palmchip's family of PalmPakTM Fast SOC Development Platforms is based on
Palmchip's CoreFrame(R) integration architecture. The platform contains all of
the peripheral functions required for a basic SOC design, including system and
watchdog timers, programmable I/O, and interrupt and memory controllers.

For more information, contact:

ARC International plc

Media:  Nitin Dahad
[phone]
[e-mail]

Investors:  Peter Aubusson
[phone]
[e-mail]


Notes to Editors
About ARC International

ARC International plc, is a leading designer and developer of customizable,
high-performance microprocessor cores and related intellectual property
technology for telecommunications, voice and data networking, and consumer
electronics embedded systems. ARC's Tangent processor is an application
specific processor (ASP) which can be customized for use in a wide variety of
increasingly sophisticated products. ARC's technology enables designers to
reduce time to market and to work with the semiconductor manufacturers and
technologies of their choice.

With headquarters in Elstree, England, ARC International plc and its group
companies employ 280 people in research and development, sales, and marketing
offices across North America and Europe. MetaWare Inc., Precise Software
Technologies Inc. and VAutomation Inc. are wholly owned subsidiaries of ARC
International, providing software development tools, hardware and software
intellectual property and real time operating systems offering multiple
integrated products for system on a chip development.

ARC International plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE:ARK). The
company's website is located at www.arccores.com


About Palmchip
Palmchip Corporation develops and licenses SOC (system-on-chip) development
platforms for embedded IC solutions. Key target applications include
networking, portable communications and computing, storage, and multimedia. The
company offers general-purpose platforms that contain interfaces to today's
popular embedded processors. It also offers application-targeted platforms.
Palmchip's IP is based on its CoreFrame(R) integration architecture. This
technology is independent of processor, I/O or foundry, allowing designers
flexibility in porting IP from any number of sources. Palmchip DirectConnectTM
partners offer a range of third-party IP, software, and design tools that are
compatible with the CoreFrame(R) architecture. Palmchip was established in 1996
and is today a privately held company based in San Jose, California (USA). It
is a member of the Virtual Socket Interface Alliance and VCX. More information
can be obtained at www.palmchip.com.

Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts include
forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ from those indicated by such
forward-looking statements include, among others, market acceptance of the ARC
technology; fluctuations in and unpredictability of the Company's quarterly
results; general economic and business conditions; regulatory policies adopted
by governmental authorities; assumptions regarding the Company's future
business strategy; changes in technology; competition; ability to attract and
retain qualified personnel; risks associated with the Company's international
operations; and other uncertainties that are discussed in the 'Investment
Considerations' section of the Company's listing particulars dated 28 September
2000 filed with the United Kingdom Listing Authority and the Registrar of
Companies in England and Wales.

ARC International (UK) Ltd. and ARC Cores, Inc., both of which are wholly owned
subsidiaries of ARC International plc, trade under the name of ARC Cores. ARC
Cores is a trademark of ARC International (UK) Ltd. All other brands or product
names are the property of their respective holders.

Palmchip, CoreFrame and the palm leaf logo are registered trademarks, and
FlexiSOC, PalmPak, PalmBus and DirectConnect are trademarks of Palmchip
Corporation.