FREMONT, Calif. - June 12, 2001 - Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: ASYT), the leading provider of Standard Mechanical Interface- (SMIF-) based manufacturing automation systems, today announced that Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN) has selected Asyst for its 2000 Supplier Excellence Award (SEA). The only automation company from TI's entire base of 38,000 suppliers selected for this year's award, Asyst was recognized for its products and exemplary support in facilitating upgrade programs at three of TI's fabs in the United States, Japan and Germany.

TI chose to use Asyst's SMIF technology as part of the upgrade of its existing 150mm DMOS4 wafer fab in Dallas to a sub-half-micron, 200mm fab. Completion of this upgrade makes DMOS4 TI's first fully SMIF-equipped fab, employing full components of Asyst's SMIF technology-including OEM-integrated SMIF I/O LoadPorts, LPT 2200 adapted SMIF I/Os, SMIF Pods, and Asyst SMART-Tags™ and minienvironments. According to the director of capital equipment procurement for TI's Semiconductor Group, Rob Simpson, the fab was then used as a model for the upgrades at TI's fabs in Miho, Japan, and Freising, Germany. "Early in the process, Asyst initiated an upgrade management strategy that increased the project's efficiency and effectiveness. Asyst used the same experienced staff that headed our 200mm SMIF upgrade at our DMOS4 fab to also lead the upgrades at our fabs in Miho and Freising. We believe Asyst's early involvement in these projects was largely responsible for the success of these undertakings, and key to the speed and efficiency with which the upgrades were completed."

Commenting on the company's customer support policy, Asyst Senior Vice President of Global Customer Operations Dennis Riccio stated, "We are honored to have been selected by TI for this year's SEA award. We established our global account management strategy to ensure that our customers receive the highest level of service and support in implementing fab upgrades, while experiencing a minimal amount of disruption in their manufacturing processes. We bring in highly qualified upgrade teams that can hit the ground running, which helps our customers achieve standardization and consistency throughout their worldwide fabs, in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner, especially for fabs in other parts of the world."

TI's SEA is presented annually, honoring companies that have demonstrated dedication and commitment to supplying products and services that meet TI's high standards. Recipients are an elite group of suppliers chosen for excellence in the combined areas of cost, environmental responsibility, technology, responsiveness, assurance of supply and quality. The SEA Award for 2000 was presented by TI's Rob Simpson at Asyst's headquarters on May 9, 2001.

Except for statements of historical fact, the statements in this press release are forward-looking. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include, but are not limited to: failure to efficiently integrate acquired companies, failure to retain employees of acquired companies, dependence on a few significant customers, the strain on operations from our rapid growth, the volatility of semiconductor industry cycles, competition in the semiconductor equipment industry, the transition of the industry from 200mm wafers to 300mm wafers, risks associated with the acceptance of new products and product capabilities, including our Plus Portal systems, and other factors more fully detailed in the Company's most recent 10Q quarterly report on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About Asyst
Asyst Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of isolation and automation technologies that enable semiconductor makers to protect their valued assets throughout the manufacturing process while increasing manufacturing productivity. Through this "Value-Assured Fab" strategy, Asyst offers a broad range of 200mm and 300mm solutions that enable the safe transfer of wafers and information between the process equipment and the fab line throughout the IC fabrication process, preventing human, environmental, mechanical and chemical harm. Encompassing robotics, portals, wafer and reticle carriers, connectivity and interface products, and transport and loading products, Asyst's modular, interoperable solutions allow chipmakers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to select and employ the value-assured, hands-off manufacturing capabilities that best suit their needs.