Flexras Technologies

In August 2009, a team of experts in computer-aided design and FPGAs, including Hayder Mrabet, Zied Marrakchi, and Christian Masson, founded Flexras Technologies in France. The company emerged from a decade of research at the University of Pierre et Marie Curie and the LIP6 Lab. Flexras focused on a highly specialized problem: reducing the time needed to prototype and validate complex integrated circuits and systems on a chip (SoCs). The core of their business was developing proprietary, timing-driven partitioning technology. This technology helped engineers to increase the clock frequency when prototyping complex chip designs on multi-FPGA systems, a critical step in hardware and software validation. Essentially, they built tools to make the chip design and testing process faster and more efficient. The company's specialized expertise did not go unnoticed. In January 2015, the semiconductor and electronic design giant Mentor Graphics announced it had acquired Flexras Technologies for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition was a strategic move by Mentor Graphics to strengthen its own portfolio of tools for design prototyping. The Flexras team and their technology were integrated into Mentor's Design Verification Technology Division, marking a successful exit for the founders and their specialized venture.