EXHIBIT 10.1 INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

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Exhibit 10.1

INDEMNIFICATION AGREEMENT

        This Indemnification Agreement (the "Agreement"), is dated as of                          , 200      between Techwell, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the "Corporation"), and                          ("Indemnitee").

W I T N E S S E T H:

        WHEREAS, Indemnitee is either a member of the board of directors of the Corporation (the "Board of Directors") or an officer of the Corporation, or both, and in such capacity or capacities, or otherwise as an Agent (as hereinafter defined) of the Corporation, is performing a valuable service for the Corporation; and

        WHEREAS, the Corporation is aware that competent and experienced persons are increasingly reluctant to serve as directors or officers of corporations unless they are protected by comprehensive indemnification and liability insurance, due to increased exposure to litigation costs and risks resulting from their service to such corporations, and because the exposure frequently bears no reasonable relationship to the compensation of such directors and officers; and

        WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Corporation has concluded that, to retain and attract talented and experienced individuals to serve or continue to serve as officers or directors of the Corporation, and to encourage such individuals to take the business risks necessary for the success of the Corporation, it is necessary for the Corporation contractually to indemnify directors and officers and to assume for itself to the fullest extent permitted by law expenses and damages in connection with claims against such officers and directors in connection with their service to the Corporation; and

        WHEREAS, Section 145 of the General Corporation Law of Delaware, under which the Corporation is organized (the "DGCL"), empowers the Corporation to indemnify by agreement its officers, directors, employees and agents, and persons who serve, at the request of the Corporation, as directors, officers, employees or agents of other corporations or enterprises, and expressly provides that the indemnification provided by the DGCL is not exclusive; and

        WHEREAS, the Corporation desires and has requested the Indemnitee to serve or continue to serve as a director, officer or agent of the Corporation free from undue concern for claims for damages arising out of or related to such services to the Corporation; and

        WHEREAS, Indemnitee is willing to serve, continue to serve and to take on additional service for or on behalf of the Corporation on the condition that he or she be indemnified as herein provided; and

        WHEREAS, it is intended that Indemnitee shall be paid promptly by the Corporation all amounts necessary to effectuate in full the indemnity provided herein:

        NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants in this Agreement, and of Indemnitee serving or continuing to serve the Corporation as an Agent and intending to be legally bound hereby, the parties hereto agree as follows:

        1.     Services by Indemnitee .    Indemnitee agrees to serve or continue to serve (a) as a director or an officer of the Corporation, or both, so long as Indemnitee is duly appointed or elected and qualified in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation and bylaws of the Corporation, and until such time as Indemnitee resigns or fails to stand for election or is removed from Indemnitee's position, or (b) otherwise as an Agent of the Corporation. Indemnitee may from time to time also perform other services at the request or for the convenience of, or otherwise benefiting the Corporation. Indemnitee may at any time and for any reason resign or be removed from such position (subject to any other contractual obligation or other obligation imposed by operation of law), in which event the Corporation shall have no obligation under this Agreement to continue Indemnitee in any such position.

        2.     Indemnification of Indemnitee .    Subject to the limitations set forth herein and particularly in Section 6 hereof, the Corporation hereby agrees to indemnify Indemnitee as follows:

        (a)   The Corporation shall, with respect to any Proceeding (as hereinafter defined) associated with Indemnitee's being an Agent of the Corporation, indemnify Indemnitee to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law or as such law may from time to time be amended (but, in the case of any such amendment, only to the extent such amendment permits the Corporation to provide broader indemnification rights than the law permitted the Corporation to provide before such amendment). The right to indemnification conferred herein shall be presumed to have been relied upon by Indemnitee in serving or continuing to serve the Corporation as an Agent and shall be enforceable as a contract right. Without in any way diminishing the scope of the indemnification provided by this Section 2(a), the rights of indemnification of Indemnitee shall include but shall not be limited to those rights hereinafter set forth.

        (b)   The Corporation shall indemnify Indemnitee if Indemnitee is or was a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed Proceeding (other than an action by or in the right of the Corporation) by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is or was an Agent of the Corporation, or any subsidiary of the Corporation, or by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as an Agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against Expenses (as hereinafter defined) or Liabilities (as hereinafter defined), actually and reasonably incurred by Indemnitee in connection with such Proceeding if Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe Indemnitee's conduct was unlawful.

        (c)   The Corporation shall indemnify Indemnitee if Indemnitee was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed Proceeding by or in the right of the Corporation or any subsidiary of the Corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is or was an Agent of the Corporation, or any subsidiary of the Corporation, or by reason of the fact that Indemnitee is or was serving at the request of the

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Corporation as an Agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against Expenses and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, Liabilities if Indemnitee acted in good faith and in a manner Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which Indemnitee shall have been adjudged to be liable to the Corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, Indemnitee is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or such other court shall deem proper.

        3.     Advancement of Expenses .    All reasonable Expenses incurred by or on behalf of Indemnitee (including costs of enforcement of this Agreement) shall be advanced from time to time by the Corporation to Indemnitee within thirty (30) days after the receipt by the Corporation of a written request for an advance of Expenses, whether prior to or after final disposition of a Proceeding (except to the extent that there has been a Final Adverse Determination (as hereinafter defined) that Indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified for such Expenses), including without limitation any Proceeding brought by or in the right of the Corporation. The written request for an advancement of any and all Expenses under this paragraph shall contain reasonable detail of the Expenses incurred by Indemnitee. In the event that such written request shall be accompanied by an affidavit of counsel to Indemnitee to the effect that such counsel has reviewed such Expenses and that such Expenses are reasonable in such counsel's view, then such expenses shall be deemed reasonable in the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary. By execution of this Agreement, Indemnitee shall be deemed to have made whatever undertaking as may be required by law at the time of any advancement of Expenses with respect to repayment to the Corporation of such Expenses. In the event that the Corporation shall breach its obligation to advance Expenses under this Section 3, the parties hereto agree that Indemnitee's remedies available at law would not be adequate and that Indemnitee would be entitled to specific performance.

        4.     Presumptions and Effect of Certain Proceedings .    Upon making a request for indemnification, Indemnitee shall be presumed to be entitled to indemnification under this Agreement and the Corporation shall have the burden of proof to overcome that presumption in reaching any contrary determination. The termination of any Proceeding by judgment, order, settlement, arbitration award or conviction, or upon a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent shall not affect this presumption or, except as determined by a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to Indemnitee, establish a presumption with regard to any factual matter relevant to determining Indemnitee's rights to indemnification hereunder. If the person or persons so empowered to make a determination pursuant to Section 5 hereof shall have failed to make the requested determination within sixty (60) days after any judgment, order, settlement, dismissal, arbitration award, conviction, acceptance of a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, or other disposition or partial disposition of any Proceeding or any other event that could enable the Corporation to determine Indemnitee's entitlement to indemnification, the requisite determination that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification shall be deemed to have been made.

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        5.     Procedure for Determination of Entitlement to Indemnification .    

        (a)   Whenever Indemnitee believes that Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification pursuant to this Agreement, Indemnitee shall submit a written request for indemnification to the Corporation. Any request for indemnification shall include sufficient documentation or information reasonably available to Indemnitee for the determination of entitlement to indemnification. In any event, Indemnitee shall submit Indemnitee's claim for indemnification within a reasonable time, not to exceed five (5) years after any judgment, order, settlement, dismissal, arbitration award, conviction, acceptance of a plea of nolo contendere or its equivalent, or final determination, whichever is the later date for which Indemnitee requests indemnification. The Secretary or other appropriate officer shall, promptly upon receipt of Indemnitee's request for indemnification, advise the Board of Directors in writing that Indemnitee has made such request. Determination of Indemnitee's entitlement to indemnification shall be made not later than sixty (60) days after the Corporation's receipt of Indemnitee's written request for such indemnification, provided that any request for indemnification for Liabilities, other than amounts paid in settlement, shall have been made after a determination thereof in a Proceeding. If it is so determined that the Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification, payment to the Indemnitee shall be made within ten (10) days after such determination.

        (b)   The Corporation shall be entitled to select the forum in which Indemnitee's entitlement to indemnification will be heard; provided, however, that if there is a Change in Control of the Corporation, Independent Legal Counsel (as hereinafter defined) shall determine whether Indemnitee is entitled to indemnification. The forum shall be any one of the following:

        (i)    a majority vote of Disinterested Directors (as hereinafter defined), even though less than a quorum;

        (ii)   by a committee of Disinterested Directors designated by majority vote of Disinterested Directors, even though less than a quorum;

        (iii)  Independent Legal Counsel, whose determination shall be made in a written opinion; or

        (iv)  the stockholders of the Corporation.

        6.     Specific Limitations on Indemnification .    Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Corporation shall not be obligated under this Agreement to make any payment to Indemnitee with respect to any Proceeding:

        (a)   To the extent that payment is actually made to Indemnitee under any insurance policy, or is made to Indemnitee by the Corporation or an affiliate otherwise than pursuant to this Agreement. Notwithstanding the availability of such insurance, Indemnitee also may claim indemnification from the Corporation pursuant to this Agreement by assigning to the Corporation any claims under such insurance to the extent Indemnitee is paid by the Corporation;

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        (b)   Provided there has been no Change in Control, for Liabilities in connection with Proceedings settled without the Corporation's consent, which consent, however, shall not be unreasonably withheld;

        (c)   For an accounting of profits made from the purchase or sale by Indemnitee of securities of the Corporation within the meaning of Section 16(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), or similar provisions of any state statutory or common law;

        (d)   To the extent it would be otherwise prohibited by law, if so established by a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to Indemnitee; or

        (e)   In connection with a Proceeding commenced by Indemnitee (other than a Proceeding commenced by Indemnitee to enforce Indemnitee's rights under this Agreement) unless the commencement of such Proceeding was authorized by the Board of Directors.

        7.     Fees and Expenses of Independent Legal Counsel or Arbitrators .    The Corporation agrees to pay the reasonable fees and expenses of Independent Legal Counsel should such Independent Legal Counsel be retained to make a determination of Indemnitee's entitlement to indemnification pursuant to Section 5(b) of this