MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 20 /PRNewswire/ -- SGI (NYSE: SGI) and NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) today announced the creation of a broad strategic alliance to collaborate on future graphics technologies. As part of the agreement, SGI has dismissed its patent infringement suit against NVIDIA and NVIDIA has licensed SGI's enabling 3D graphics patent portfolio. As part of the alliance, SGI has licensed NVIDIA's patent portfolio. Further terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
SGI is a recognized leader in 3D graphics, multimedia and computer systems technology since its founding in 1982 and has been awarded more than 400 patents related to these technologies.

"For the past 15 years, SGI has been the most important 3D graphics company in the world and has created many fundamental technologies for 3D computer graphics," said Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO and president of NVIDIA. "Our collaboration is bringing together the most talented 3D technologists in the world to develop products that will usher in a new era of breathtaking 3D experiences. This is a defining moment for the 3D graphics industry."

"NVIDIA has an impressive team of 3D technologists, an intense focus on delivering industry-leading technology, and the strongest product roadmap for the high-volume 3D graphics industry," said Rick Belluzzo, chairman and CEO of SGI. "This alliance with NVIDIA is a major step forward in our strategy to partner with industry leaders to develop groundbreaking visualization solutions and deliver them to our customers faster than ever before."

Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially. Factors that may affect SGI and NVIDIA's actual results include the impact of competitive products and pricing, technological changes in products and components, the ability to timely and successfully develop and produce in volume new products and modifications to existing products, market acceptance of new products and modifications to existing products, and conditions in the computer systems and personal computer market. Investors are advised to read NVIDIA's annual report filed on Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly those sections entitled "Factors Affecting Operating Results," and SGI's quarterly report filed on Form 10-Q for the March 1999 quarter, particularly the section entitled "Risks That Affect Our Business," for a fuller discussion of such risks and uncertainties.

About NVIDIA
NVIDIA Corporation, the world's leading supplier of performance 3D graphics processors, is the only independent top-to-bottom supplier of 3D graphics solutions for mainstream PCs. NVIDIA designs, markets and sells an award-winning family of 3D processors, delivering industry leading performance and visual quality for a broad range of PC-based applications, including enterprise visualization, e-commerce, e-business, education and entertainment. Used by the top PC OEMs in the world, NVIDIA's products are distributed through a worldwide channel that includes PC OEM, add-in card and motherboard partners in Europe, Asia and North America. For more information visit the Company's web site at http://www.nvidia.com.

About SGI
SGI is a market leader in technical computing, offering the world's most powerful servers, supercomputers and visual workstations. SGI uniquely provides a broad range of high-performance computing and advanced graphics solutions that enable customers to understand and conquer their toughest computing problems. Headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., with offices worldwide, the company is located on the Web at www.sgi.com.

NOTE: SGI and the SGI logo are trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. NVIDIA is a registered trademark of NVIDIA Corporation. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
 
Except for the historical information contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially. Factors that may affect NVIDIA's actual results include the impact of competitive products and pricing, technological changes in products and components, the ability to timely and successfully develop and produce in volume new products and modifications to existing products, market acceptance of new products and modifications to existing products and conditions in the PC market. Investors are advised to read the Company's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly those sections entitled "Factors Affecting Operating Results," for a fuller discussion of such risks and uncertainties.
     
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