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In 1999, MIPS Technologies replaced the previous versions of the MIPS architecture with two architectures, the 32-bit '''MIPS32''' (based on MIPS II with some additional features from MIPS III, MIPS IV, and MIPS V) and the 64-bit '''MIPS64''' (based on MIPS V) for licensing. [[Nippon Electric Corporation|NEC]], [[Toshiba]] and [[SiByte]] (later acquired by [[Broadcom]]) each obtained licenses for the MIPS64 as soon as it was announced. [[Philips]], [[LSI Corporation|LSI Logic]] and [[Integrated Device Technology|IDT]] have since joined them. Today, the MIPS cores are one of the most-used "heavyweight"{{Clarify|date=June 2009}} cores in the marketplace for computer-like devices ([[hand-held computer]]s, set-top boxes, etc.).
Since the MIPS architecture is licensable, it has attracted several processor [[Startup company|start-up]] companies over the years. One of the first start-ups to design MIPS processors was [[Quantum Effect Devices]] (see next section). The MIPS design team that designed the '''[[R4300i]]''' started the company [[SandCraft]], which designed the '''R5432''' for NEC and later produced the '''SR71000''', one of the first [[out-of-order execution]] processors for the embedded market. The original [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] [[StrongARM]] team eventually split into two MIPS-based start-ups: SiByte which produced the '''SB-1250''', one of the first high-performance MIPS-based [[system-on-a-chip|systems-on-a-chip]] (SOC); while [[Alchemy (microarchitecture)|Alchemy Semiconductor]] (later acquired by [[AMD]]) produced the '''Au-1000''' [[system-on-a-chip|SoC]] for low-power applications. [[Lexra]] used a MIPS-''like'' architecture and added DSP extensions for the audio chip market and [[Multithreading (computer architecture)|multithreading]] support for the networking market. Due to Lexra not licensing the architecture, two lawsuits were started between the two companies. The first was quickly resolved when Lexra promised not to advertise their processors as MIPS-compatible. The second (about MIPS patent 4814976 for handling unaligned memory access) was protracted, hurt both companies' business, and culminated in MIPS Technologies giving Lexra a free license and a large cash payment.
Two companies have emerged that specialize in building [[Multi-core (computing)|multi-core]] devices using the MIPS architecture. [[RMI Corporation|Raza Microelectronics, Inc.]] purchased the product line from failing SandCraft and later produced devices that contained eight cores that were targeted at the telecommunications and networking markets. [[Cavium]], originally a security processor vendor also produced devices with eight CPU cores, and later up to 32 cores, for the same markets. Both of these companies designed their cores in-house, just licensing the architecture instead of purchasing cores from MIPS.
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