44 High-School Robotics Teams Participated, Two Are Eligible to Attend the VEX Robotics World Championship April 18 - 21 in Anaheim, CA

CHANDLER, Ariz.--Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP), a leading provider of microcontroller, analog and Flash-IP solutions, today announced the results of the 2012 Fountain Hills and Southern Arizona VEX® Robotics Competitions. Sahaurita/Walden Grove and Fountain Hills High School VEX robotics teams won the prestigious VEX Excellence Award for the Fountain Hills and Southern Arizona VEX competitions, respectively. This award is given to the team that the judges feel did best, overall, in the competition. By winning the award, the Fountain Hills High and Sahaurita/Walden Grove High School VEX teams qualified to compete in the 2012 VEX Robotics World Championship on April 18 - 21 in Anaheim, CA. The VEX Robotics Competition is now the largest middle school and high school robotics competition program in the world, now with almost 5,000 teams worldwide, in 23 different countries. The Fountain Hills and Sahaurita/Walden Grove high-school teams will be joining almost 600 other top teams from those countries in Anaheim to see who the 2012 VEX Robotics World Champions will be.

"Microchip is proud to sponsor VEX Robotics, a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program," said Steve Sanghi, president and CEO of Microchip. "VEX Robotics provides students from middle-school to college an opportunity that not only increases their abilities in technical areas, such as programming and engineering, but also in real-life workforce skills such as working on a team, problem solving, and project management. The VEX platform also offers curriculum that enables students to use engineering skills in the classroom."

Microchip Technology is the Official Sponsor of the Fountain Hills and Southern Arizona VEX Robotics Competitions. Microchip's PIC18F8520 8-bit microcontroller is featured in VEX's autonomous and dual-control starter bundles, while Microchip's C Compiler is offered as a programming option. Microchip's sponsorship of VEX in Arizona will increase the number of tournaments held in 2013 from two to four events. Sites are being finalized and will be announced in the coming months. Grant money will be available to start rookie VEX teams in Arizona, with a goal of creating 24 new VEX teams for the 2013 competitions. For more information or to get involved, contact Carol Popovich at carol.popovich@microchip.com or (480) 792-7938.

About VEX® Robotics

The VEX® Robotics Design System offers students an exciting platform for learning about areas rich with career opportunities, spanning Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). These are just a few of the many fields students can explore by creating with VEX Robotics technology. Beyond science and engineering principles, a VEX Robotics project encourages teamwork, leadership and problem solving among groups. It also allows educators to easily customize projects to meet the level of students' abilities. The affordable VEX platform is expanding rapidly, and is now found in middle schools, high schools and university labs around the globe. Robotics hobbyists also appreciate the advanced capabilities of the VEX System. For more information, visit http://www.microchip.com/get/X5E8.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: MCHP) is a leading provider of microcontroller, analog and Flash-IP solutions, providing low-risk product development, lower total system cost and faster time to market for thousands of diverse customer applications worldwide. Headquartered in Chandler, Ariz., Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip Web site (http://www.microchip.com/get/QREB).