Allayer Names New Marketing Director

October 14, 1997 (San Jose, Calif.), -- Allayer Communications today announced that David Wong has been named to the new post of Director of Marketing. Allayer -- pronounced "Aah-layer" -- was founded earlier this year to be a "fabless" semiconductor maker, concentrating on design, marketing and support of advanced integrated circuit solutions for network equipment.

"David Wong is a proven industry veteran with intimate knowledge of the IEEE802.3 networking industry," points out Dr. Cheng-chung Shih, Allayer President and CEO. "We are delighted that he has chosen to join with us, since he is a well-known and well-respected member of both the technical and marketing communities."

Mr. Wong has been a member of the IEEE802.3 Ethernet/Fast Ethernet Standards Committee since 1991 where he serves with Dr. Shih. He holds a B.S.E.E. from the University of Wisconsin and a patent for electronic circuit design. During the past 15 years Wong has held a number of marketing and marketing management positions with well-known analog, mixed-signal and communications semiconductor companies including stints in Product Marketing and Product Line Management at Cypress Semiconductor, Level ONE Communications, Exar Corporation, and MicroLinear Corporation.

Most recently, Wong assisted a communications semiconductor startup, Advanced Communications Devices, in their first product introduction into the market. Prior to his marketing roles, Mr. Wong served in technical design positions with Fairchild Semiconductor, National Semiconductor and Teledyne.

"I chose to join Allayer because they have put together an excellent team of technical managers who have successful semiconductor and network systems experience and they have the strong financial backing required to become successful," states Mr. Wong. "I see that Allayer can become a leading player in the networking semiconductor market, and I believe that I can contribute in a meaningful way to their success."

At Allayer, Wong will be responsible for all marketing and sales activities including public relations, advertising, customer support and sales distribution activities. "My first goal will be to identify and sign up key distributors and sales representatives in our target geographic market areas," notes Wong. "In 1998, we will be rolling out our first products and announcing new technologies and products to the press."

About Allayer

Allayer is concentrating on the highest performance Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet switches. The 10/100 Mbps Fast Ethernet market grew by 486 percent from 232,000 ports in 1995 to over 1.3 million ports in 1996, according to market research firm IDC. Competition among network equipment vendors is expected to accelerate as they scramble to meet the fast growing needs of the networking market. This opens a large potential for semiconductor firms like Allayer who can provide highly targeted solutions.

Allayer is well-positioned to grow rapidly with first round funding of over 2 million dollars from VenGlobal Capital Fund, L.P., Acer Technical Ventures, and other private investors. Lead investors have pledged additional funds as needed as Allayer moves into high volume production in 1998.

Allayer is led by Dr. Cheng-chung Shih, an experienced network systems executive and technical manager. Dr. Shih directed the growth of the New Technology Division at Allied Telesyn from 7 persons to over 25 engineers, with revenues growing from zero to over 8 million dollars. Dr. Shih directed the development of custom communications ASICs for applications including Ethernet Repeaters and Switches, mixed-signal Fast Ethernet Transceivers, Fast Ethernet Switches and Gigabit Switches. Prior to joining Allied Telesyn, Dr. Shih spent nearly five years leading the development of Ethernet circuits and ISDN interfaces at Level ONE Communications in Sacramento, California. He also spend several years at Rockwell Semiconductor Division where he designed data communications circuits for modems and T1 elements. Dr. Shih is an expert in CMOS and mixed-signal digital/analog ASIC design as well as communication standards and systems. Since 1992, he has served on the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Standards Committee. He holds 7 communications technology patents.

Allayer's proprietary technology is not currently being released to the public, but when announced it will offer significant advantages in designing and implementing both low- and high-end systems. Initial products are aimed at the 10/100 Mbit Ethernet and Fast Ethernet IEEE 802.3 network systems and they will offer the OEM advantages in designing and manufacturing 8-port, 16-port, 24-port Fast Ethernet switches with data throughputs ranging from 10 Mbits/second to over one gigabit/second. Allayer semiconductor solutions will save the OEM time, reduce system costs and enable more flexible design options.

The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif.

Editorial Contact:
David Wong (408) 570-0888 x108
Allayer Communications
107 Bonventura Drive
San Jose, CA 95134