Opti Sells Semi Biz; Will Hunt Patent Violators

Opti Inc., once a leader in the core logic market, has decided to sell its chip business and turn its eye toward prosecuting possible patent violators.

Opti, which battled Chips & Technologies and VLSI Technologies in the early 1990s for dominance in the core logic market, has floundered since late 1998, when the company put itself up for sale and tried to sell of its assets. Since then, the company has struggled to establish itself as a supplier of USB components and other interconnect devices.

Monday night, Opti announced that it sold its semiconductor business to OPTi Technologies, Inc., an unaffiliated company formed to acquire the semiconductor business, for approximately $700,000 in cash plus future royalties. The maximum amount of the deal if OPTi Technologies were to remit the full amount of royalties would be approximately $1,900,000 in cash, the company said.

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