Presto Engineering, a Silicon Valley-based semiconductor lab services company, received $2 million in funding to support its expansion and future growth in Europe and improves the company's economies of scale with its lab hubs.  The company provides semiconductor test and analysis solutions to IDM and fabless companies, helping to improve the speed and predictability of their new product releases. It calls itself a pioneer of the 'labless' business model.  Presto Engineering introduced the labless business model to the semiconductor industry in 2007 when it acquired Cypress Semiconductor's product-engineering lab and created a hub of analytical capabilities in Silicon Valley.

The investment came from Masseran Gestion, a French equity investor in technology companies and innovative startups, will support Presto's expansion in Europe and its ongoing investment in new RF and 3D-integration technologies. It will enable the company enhance its product engineering services to the semiconductor industry, as it provides an alternative to companies' internal analysis labs.

Presto's labless model enables chip companies to outsource critical functions that require high rates of capital investment, substantial facility space and specialized personnel. This reduces costs and frees up corporate resources for their core business of designing advanced devices and bringing them to market. Presto maintains hubs with state-of-the-art lab capabilities and experienced.  In addition to enhanced RF and 3D-integration expertise, Presto provides leading-edge test, reliability, fault-isolation and failure-analysis services. Presto's first European hub will be in Caen, France, where it will acquire lab infrastructure from NXP Semiconductor.

Through its French-based subsidiary, Presto Engineering Europe, the company will aggressively pursue commercialization opportunities on the continent and build a corporate infrastructure that will make it the ideal externalization partner for Europe's semiconductor companies.

Michel Villemain

The company was co-founded by Michel Villemain and Frank Sauk.  Villemain, who serves as CEO,  was most recently VP of marketing for the Circuit Edit and Mask Repair Division at FEI. Prior to that, he was GM of the CD-SEM Business Unit at KLA-Tencor. He started his career with Schlumberger (later NPTest), where he served in various technical and managerial capacities over 19 years, in Europe, Texas and California. He has served as GM for Schlumberger ATE Europe, VP of marketing of the Test Division, and for five years GM of the Probe Systems (IDS) Division.

VP of engineering, Sauk, was director of Diagnostic Services and Member of Technical Staff at Credence. He was a founding member of SABER at Schlumberger where he initiated worldwide failure analysis services. 

Contact:
Presto Engineering
3907 North First Street
San Jose, CA 95134
Phone:  408-434-1808