Semiconductor Industry Veteran Harold Blomquist to Head Morpho Technologies

Company Prepares for Next Growth Phase, Building on its Pioneering Leadership in Reconfigurable Computing Technology

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 22, 2004 - Morpho Technologies, a leader in a new class of semiconductor technology that will enable media and communications products to quickly and easily be reconfigured to match rapidly changing application or feature requirements and multi-protocol digital signal processing (DSP) on a single platform, today announced it has appointed semiconductor industry veteran Harold Blomquist as president and chief executive officer (CEO) and a member of the company’s board of directors.

Blomquist has more than 17 years of executive management experience, most recently as CEO of Tower Semiconductor in San Jose, Calif. Prior to that he was vice president of business operations at AMIS in Pocatello, Idaho, and vice president of sales and marketing at General Semiconductor in Tempe, Ariz. Blomquist will be responsible for guiding Morpho Technologies through its next growth phase as the company expands the introduction of its patented reconfigurable DSP technology.

“I am excited to be joining Morpho Technologies at such an important time in the growth of the company and this rapidly emerging market segment,” Blomquist said. “Morpho Technologies has taken a unique approach to reconfigurable computing and delivers significant advantages as compared to both earlier technologies and contemporary reconfigurable computing solutions -- especially in the area of proven superior processing performance as it applies to media and communications applications. The company is well positioned to capitalize on intense interest in this new technology category.”

Blomquist assumes Morpho Technologies’ CEO position from company founder Shahriar Sadri, who remains as chief operations officer (COO). “I am pleased to have
someone with Harold’s impressive background joining our team,” Sadri said. “Harold has extensive experience in business strategy and development and corporate management, and an outstanding track record leading both emerging and established semiconductor companies. We are confident he can take Morpho Technologies to a higher level of growth and success.”

Blomquist also serves as chairman of the board for Simtek Corporation in Colorado Springs, Colo., and is a director on the board of Microsemi Corporation in Irvine, Calif. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, with additional major studies in business administration, from the University of Utah.

Morpho Technologies History

Morpho Technologies was founded in 2000 to commercialize technology that had been developed at the University of California at Irvine as part of a major government-funded research program in reconfigurable computing. The company has developed and manufactured prototype semiconductors based on its technology and signed a licensing agreement for its MS1-16 and MS1-64 reconfigurable DSP (rDSP) cores in 2002 with Motorola®, which also made an equity investment in the company at that time.

Morpho Technologies enables a new class of semiconductor digital signal processors whose architecture can be reconfigured on the fly, using software instructions to open or close hundreds of millions of logic gates and alter the processor’s functional behavior. The technology is ideally suited for cellular telephone handsets and base stations, multi-protocol consumer video/media appliances, set-top boxes, HDTVs, wireless LANs and other consumer electronics systems. Products using Morpho Technologies’ rDSP cores can be adapted after deployment to support new features or technical standards and can be fine-tuned continuously during operation to optimize performance and power efficiency.

About Morpho Technologies

Morpho Technologies designs and develops high-performance reconfigurable digital signal processor (rDSP) products that enables customers to lower costs, shorten time to market and increase flexibility for smaller, lower-power products. The company’s products incorporate intellectual property in both software and hardware for implementing such technologies as Software Defined Radio (SDR) modems and cellular telephone signal processing. Product applications include cellular basestations and handsets, PDAs, portable PCs, set top boxes, home gateways, Internet appliances and computer graphics workstations. For more information visit www.morphotech.com or call (949) 475-0629.