Tessera Receives Job Development Investment Grant from the State of North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C. & SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tessera Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:TSRA), a leading provider of miniaturization technologies for the electronics industry, today announced that the North Carolina Economic Investment Committee voted today to award a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) to Tessera. This grant will support Tessera’s consumer optics plans, enabling the company to add 185 jobs and invest approximately $30 million in its Charlotte-based wafer-level optics facilities during the next five years.

“When we acquired Charlotte-based Digital Optics Corporation in 2006, our plan was to proliferate their wafer-level optics technologies into a broader range of applications that would impact people’s lives in tangible ways, and this announcement furthers that intention,” said Bruce McWilliams, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Tessera. “After considering a number of possible sites, Kevin Drehmer, general manager of Tessera North America, convinced us that Charlotte’s emerging technology base, cultural vibrancy and positive business climate made it the ideal choice for our expansion.”

Under the terms of the JDIG, for each year in which the company meets the required performance targets, the state will provide a grant equal to 65 percent of the state personal income withholding taxes derived from the creation of new jobs. Should the company create the jobs called for under the agreement and sustain them for nine years, the agreement could yield as much as $2.64 million in maximum benefits for Tessera Technologies.

“Given our roots at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, our time at the Ben Craig Center and our strong connection to the Charlotte Research Institute, we are proud and grateful that this incentive package will enable us to expand our Charlotte facilities,” said Kevin Drehmer, general manager of Tessera North America. “This announcement reinforces our commitment to the region, and to developing and delivering innovative, industry-leading wafer-level optics solutions.”

This is the third JDIG awarded in 2008 and the 73^rd since the program began in 2003.

About JDIGs

Job Development Investment Grants (JDIGs) are awarded only to new and expanding businesses and industrial projects whose benefits exceed the costs to the state and which would not be undertaken in North Carolina without the grant. To date, 60 percent of all JDIGs have been awarded to North Carolina companies. Since the first grant was awarded in 2003, the program has been responsible for creating more than 27,000 jobs and $4 billion in investment in North Carolina.

About Tessera

Tessera Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of miniaturization technologies for the electronics industry. The company provides a broad range of advanced packaging, interconnect, and consumer optics solutions which are widely adopted in high-growth markets including consumer, computing, communications, medical and defense electronics. Tessera’s customers include the world’s top semiconductor companies such as Intel, Samsung, Texas Instruments, Toshiba, Micron and Infineon. The company’s stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol TSRA. Tessera is headquartered in San Jose, California. For information call 1.408.894.0700 or go to www.tessera.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those projected. Material factors that may cause results to differ from the statements made include delays, setbacks or losses relating to our intellectual property or intellectual property litigations, or any invalidation or limitation of our key patents; fluctuations in our operating results due to the timing of new license agreements and royalties, or due to legal costs; changes in patent laws, regulation or enforcement, or other factors that might affect our ability to protect our intellectual property; the risk of a decline in demand for semiconductor products; failure by the industry to adopt our technologies; competing technologies; the future expiration of our patents; the future expiration of our license agreements and the cessation of related royalty income; the failure or refusal of licensees to pay royalties; failure to achieve the growth prospects and synergies expected from acquisition transactions; and delays and challenges associated with integrating acquired companies with our existing businesses. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Tessera's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, include more information about factors that could affect the company's financial results.

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