After graduating from Padua University in 1985 with a degree in Electronic Engineering, he completed his studies with a PhD in Computer Aided Design from U.C. Berkeley in 1991. He spent three years in Germany, in Munich, before returning to California and founding Runtime Design Automation (RTDA), a company specialising in developing and marketing software for optimising microprocessor design. In 2017, he completed the sale of RD to Altair Engineering, a company for which he now serves as Chief Scientist. Today, he divides his professional life between Italy and Silicon Valley.