Blaze DFM Announces Jacob Jacobsson as CEO
New leader ignites company growth and customer expansion

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – May 15, 2006 – Blaze DFM, Inc. today announced that renowned EDA and semiconductor industry executive Jacob Jacobsson has joined the company as CEO. Jacobsson will lead the company’s next stage of growth on the heels of its first product launch, Blaze MO™.

“Now that we’ve successfully launched our first product, we felt that it was time to bring in an experienced and proven CEO,” said Dave Reed, co-founder of Blaze. “After talking with a number of exceptional candidates, it became very apparent that Jacob was the right person to lead the company into its next stage of development.”  Reed, Blaze’s first CEO, will continue on as vice president of marketing and business development.

“I was simply overwhelmed by the quality of the Blaze team, the depth of the technology, and the profound bottom-line impact Blaze brings to its customers’ business,” said Jacobsson. “We have a real opportunity to do something great.”

“Jacob’s extensive experience as a CEO combined with his engineering background made him the ideal choice for Blaze,” said Andrew Kahng, co-founder, chairman, and chief technologist at Blaze. “Jacob’s proven track record in leading expansion-stage startups was a key factor in our inviting him to join the team. I also want to acknowledge the superb job that Dave Reed has done to jump-start the company and put it on its current trajectory.”

“Andrew has been conducting DFM research for almost 10 years in anticipation of the challenges that are now being faced by chip designers and manufacturers,” Jacobsson added. “My top priority will be to realize the full potential and value of this ground-breaking technology.”
Jacob Jacobsson was most recently president and CEO of Forte Systems where he managed the successful merger of CynApps and Chronology to create Forte, and established Forte as the leading supplier of electronics system level (ESL) design tools. Prior to that, Jacobsson was president and CEO at SCS Corp., a fabless RF/ID semiconductor company, and has held executive positions at Xilinx, Cadence, and Daisy. He currently sits on the board of directors at Actel Corp. and various privately held companies.

About Blaze DFM
Blaze DFM provides software solutions to fabless semiconductor companies, integrated device manufacturers, and silicon foundries. Blaze products give IC designers greater control over manufacturing variability, improving yield and shortening time to volume production. Blaze DFM, Inc., 1275 Orleans Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089, 408.470.4900. Web: http://www.blaze-dfm.com
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