Nokia Growth Partners invests four million euros in Bitboys to support the company’s growth and product development

Bitboys to provide Nokia with early access to best-of-breed graphics technology for mass-market mobile devices

February 09, 2006, Espoo, Finland - Bitboys, a leading provider of graphics hardware solutions for mobile devices, today announced it has received an investment of four million euros from Nokia Growth Partners (NGP), a $100m venture capital fund established by Nokia in December 2004.

The purpose of Nokia Growth Partners is to help Nokia capitalize on external innovation from emerging high-growth companies. The investment will further support Bitboys in designing solutions that enable extremely high-quality 3D and vector graphics acceleration in the power and size-restricted environments of mobile devices.

Dedicated 3D or vector graphics processors stand to dramatically improve the graphics capability of mobile devices. Applications include enhanced user interfaces that are easier and more fun to use; next-generation mobile games; maps and navigation; web browsing; and entertaining graphics content that will drive consumer demand for more sophisticated wireless devices.

“Graphics processing is one of the most important growth areas in the mobile industry. As the only vendor that provides graphics solutions specifically for volume-market mobile devices, Bitboys has already achieved a strong position in the market. Nokia Growth Partners made this investment to ensure Bitboys has adequate financial and human resources for continued successful growth. As a key strategic graphics partner, Bitboys provides Nokia with early access to best-of-breed technology in mobile graphics processing,” said Markus Salolainen, General Partner, Nokia Growth Partners.

“We greatly appreciate the trust Nokia Growth Partners has shown towards our product development and our ability to sustain market momentum. Bitboys is expanding its business rapidly, and the cooperation with Nokia Growth Partners supports our growth at a time when it is essential to secure a leading position in the graphics IP provider market,” said Mikko Saari, CEO, Bitboys.

Bitboys has been steadily growing and profitable since 2002, when the company shifted its strategy to developing graphics hardware solutions for volume-market mobile devices. With the new investment, NGP acquires a 14% share of Bitboys, but will not have representation on the board of the company.

Note to Editors:
Bitboys will provide demonstrations of its processors rendering 3D and 2D/vector graphics at 3GSM World Congress, held in Barcelona, February 13th-17th, 2006. Bitboys booth C59 is located in Hall 1 of the Fira de Barcelona arena. Bitboys executives are available for interviews upon request.

About Bitboys
Finland-based Bitboys is a leading provider of graphics hardware solutions for mobile devices. Bitboys graphics processors are specifically designed for power and size-restricted environments and are the outcome of 15 years of experience in graphics research and development. Bitboys is the only vendor that provides graphics solutions to fit the requirements of volume-market production of mobile phones. Its solutions are licensed to leading mobile phone and semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. Bitboys currently employs over 40 dedicated graphics professionals. For more information about Bitboys, please visit www.bitboys.com

About Nokia Growth Partners
Nokia Growth Partners is a global mid- to late-stage venture capital fund headquartered in London and Menlo Park, California. Nokia Growth Partners focuses on investments in mobile technology companies from around the world that are already experiencing industry adoption by large companies such as Nokia. For more information about Nokia Growth Partners, please visit http://www.nokiagrowthpartners.com.

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