Rambus : to Acquire PLDA, Extending Leadership with Cutting-Edge CXL™ and PCI Express® Digital IP

• Expands digital controller IP portfolio with complementary CXL 2.0, PCIe® 5.0 and PCIe 6.0 controller and switch IP
• Enables integrated interface subsystem solutions for data center, artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML), and High Performance Computing (HPC)
• Provides critical building blocks for Rambus CXL Memory Interconnect Initiative to advance high-bandwidth connectivity

SAN JOSE, Calif. - June 16, 2021 - Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS), a provider of industry-leading chips and silicon IP making data faster and safer, today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire PLDA, an industry leader in Compute Express Link (CXL) and PCI Express (PCIe) digital solutions. The data center industry is on the verge of a groundbreaking shift to disaggregated architectures that promise to dramatically improve performance, efficiency and cost of ownership. CXL and PCIe will be critical enablers for these next-generation systems, delivering the high-speed interconnects between processors, accelerators, memory and network devices needed to tackle demanding workloads in AI/ML and HPC applications. With the addition of the world-class digital IP and engineering expertise from PLDA, Rambus will further its leadership in these mission critical interconnect chips and IP solutions for the future data center.

'We are in the midst of a generational shift in data center, and PCI Express and CXL are the backbone of future architectures,' said Luc Seraphin, president and CEO of Rambus. 'Leveraging our combined offerings and expertise, we will be able to expand market opportunity and accelerate our roadmap of new memory interconnect products, ushering in a new era of global data center connectivity.'

PLDA CXL 2.0, PCIe 5.0 and PCIe 6.0 controller and switch IP expand the Rambus portfolio and accelerate the time to market for complete CXL interface subsystems. In addition, this acquisition enhances the Rambus roadmap for PCIe 6.0 and CXL 3.0 solutions, and provides critical building blocks for the CXL Memory Interconnect Initiative.

'PLDA's industry-leading digital IP ideally complements the Rambus product offering and this acquisition will augment our combined market opportunity,' said Arnaud Schleich, co-founder and CEO of PLDA. 'The team and I are extremely excited to join Rambus, and look forward to being instrumental in scaling the business.'

The transaction is expected to close in the third calendar quarter of 2021. Although this transaction will not materially impact 2021 results due to the expected timing of close and acquisition accounting, Rambus expects this acquisition to be accretive in 2022.