Hyderabad: ATI Technologies, Inc (TSX: ATY, NASDAQ:ATYT), which designs and manufactures innovative 3D graphics and digital media silicon solutions, has opened a key research and development centre for its consumer and PC business units in Hyderabad, which will serve as the company's largest engineering centre outside of North America.

"We found a pool of high-quality engineering talent available in Hyderabad and that's why we've chosen it as the location for our new research and development centre," explains Adrian Hartog, chief tecCTO and senior vice president, consumer business unit, ATI Technologies, Inc.

The Hyderabad facility will focus on research and development of next generation audio and digital media products to broaden ATI's products for consumer electronics devices and PCs, and will strengthen its position as the industry leader in digital multimedia solutions for all platforms. The Hyderabad centre will also work on developing chipsets for PCs, cell phones and high-definition TVs.

"Over the next five years, we plan to make a multi-million dollar investment in research and development in India, and this year our focus is to hire over a hundred of India's top engineers with the promise of a very dynamic and exciting work environment. Our goal is to create a vibrant team of engineers that will showcase India's top engineering talent, and position Hyderabad as the world's finest location for developing multimedia hardware and software products."

ATI's facility will incorporate Hyderabad-based CuTe Solutions, which ATI acquired recently to broaden its audio and digital media product offerings. ATI Technologies India will retain CuTe's employees and add additional engineering resources to strengthen its team.

According to Dasaradha Gude, managing director, ATI Technologies India, "As part of numerous initiatives planned to encourage top talent to join ATI India, we intend to work closely with a number of industry-leading universities with a reputation for graduating India's top engineering talent."

ATI Technologies, Inc. figures among global leading companies in the design and manufacture of innovative 3D graphics and digital media silicon solutions. ATI is the world's foremost graphics processing unit (GPU) provider and is dedicated to delivering leading-edge performance solutions for the full range of PC and Mac desktop and notebook platforms, workstation, set-top and digital television, game console and handheld device markets. With 2004 revenues of approximately US $2 billion, ATI has more than 2,700 employees in the Americas, Europe and Asia. ATI common shares trade on NASDAQ (ATYT) and the Toronto Stock Exchange (ATY).