DAFCA Appoints Dennis Shepard CEO and Introduces Two New Products

Company Leverages Patented Technology Platform to Extend Product Line

FRAMINGHAM, MA -- Mar 16, 2009 -- DAFCA, Inc., the premier provider of software solutions that automate and accelerate post-silicon system-on-a-chip validation, today announced the appointment of 30-year industry veteran Dennis Shepard as CEO. DAFCA has also extended its ClearBlue(TM) line with two new products, ClearBlueXpress and ClearBlueFPGA, to address the broader needs of the SoC and FPGA markets.

All DAFCA ClearBlue solutions incorporate the company's patented, reprogrammable fabric to provide users with a framework for automating hardware and embedded software validation through a combination of programmable on-chip instrumentation and off-chip analysis tools and applications. DAFCA's flagship ClearBlue product helps companies achieve significant cost savings and productivity gains by allowing users to instrument and observe all critical segments of the design, including key buses, interfaces, and state machines for complex ASIC or SoC designs.

ClearBlueXpress

DAFCA's new ClearBlueXpress is a set of easy-to-use tools that automate the process of validating complex SoC/ASIC designs, and was created to provide an economical alternative for design teams that do not require all the features of ClearBlue. ClearBlueXpress automates and streamlines the instrumentation processes, removing a significant burden from the design and verification team already stretched to the limit, while still providing the tremendous benefits of on-chip visualization and analysis that ultimately leads to on-time delivery of more robustly tested SoC/ASICs. Customers who purchase ClearBlueXpress can easily upgrade to DAFCA's ClearBlue product if more sophisticated functionality is required. Pricing for ClearBlueXpress starts at $15,000.

ClearBlueFPGA

DAFCA ClearBlueFPGA is specifically architected to enable systems designers, software engineers and hardware engineers producing complex FPGA designs, ASIC prototyping systems and designs that span multiple FPGAs to realize the same productivity gains and cost reduction benefits as ClearBlue users.

ClearBlueFPGA features enhanced capabilities beyond what conventional FPGA tools and hardware debug/logic analyzers offer, including on-chip stimulus, on-chip analysis (such as performance monitoring), assertions, transaction analysis and multi-FPGA visibility, with the added ability to use the same technology in simulation and emulation environments or even ASICs if required. Pricing for ClearBlueFPGA starts at $7,500.

"ClearBlueFPGA offers a much-needed improvement over existing debug solutions for FPGA-based prototypes," said Mike Dini, president of the Dini Group. "The product is more flexible and more powerful than the alternatives, yet requires only a moderate amount of FPGA resources. Additionally, one of the most exciting features of ClearBlueFPGA is that it is the first to work seamlessly over a multi-FPGA partition."

"Our patented, reprogrammable fabric technology is the only product on the market that provides the ability to observe, analyze and control the functional, rather than structural, behavior of complicated devices, enabling our customers to realize dramatically lower development costs," said Dennis Shepard. "DAFCA has established a proven track record of bringing a considerable return on investment to our ClearBlue customers, and we recognized a significant need across the broader SoC and FPGA community for similar tools to meet their unique design challenges. We are delighted to be able to build on our powerful technology platform to develop new offerings that fulfill the requirements of these customers, as well as to begin to meet the needs of the emerging cybersecurity market."

DAFCA is currently developing system and device assurance solutions based on its patented, reprogrammable fabric technology that will address critical areas of anti-tamper/system protection: sabotage and unauthorized use prevention, and counterfeit prevention and detection.

About DAFCA

DAFCA, Inc. is the premier provider of software solutions that automate and accelerate post-silicon system-on-a-chip (SoC) validation by providing the unique ability to observe and control the devices' functional behavior. DAFCA's patented, reprogrammable fabric and ClearBlue(TM) tools enable semiconductor and systems manufacturers to more efficiently and effectively validate and secure complex circuits prior to volume production, resulting in dramatically lower development costs and accelerated time to market. Leading companies around the world, including Infineon, Qualcomm, Samsung, ST Micro and Toshiba rely on DAFCA's solutions to increase efficiency, reliability and service along the entire SoC design, integration and deployment value chain.