CMGI, Inc., (NASDAQ: CMGI) and its venture capital affiliate, Ventures, today announced the launch of the Ventures Technology Fund. The new venture fund will focus exclusively on investing in and supporting the rapid development and growth of Internet enabling technologies and infrastructure companies that are synergistic with the CMGI and Ventures network. The fund will total up to $1 billion in capital and is immediately available for investment in this sector of the Internet economy.
The fund will be managed by Lior E. Yahalomi, Managing Partner of the Ventures Technology Fund. Mr. Yahalomi joins Ventures from his previous position as Vice President for New Ventures at Gateway, where he led a team responsible for Gateway's diversification into Internet, Internet access, and e-commerce businesses. He was at the forefront of Gateway's drive to move beyond its traditional hardware toward more "non-system" revenue and into the center of e-commerce. Prior to Gateway, Mr. Yahalomi was a Senior Vice President for Global Business Development at GE Capital where he led a global team responsible for mergers and acquisitions, new ventures, and global expansion. He also has several years of experience as a strategy consultant at Monitor Company in Cambridge, MA, where he developed and implemented strategies for high technology and consumer-related businesses. Mr. Yahalomi will be based in Ventures' Menlo Park, California office.
"I am extremely pleased to join Ventures to initiate, incubate and implement new technologies to serve the evolving Internet marketplace," said Mr. Yahalomi. "The extended CMGI and Ventures network - with its vast assets and unmatched technological and human resources - will provide companies with unparalleled opportunities to test and integrate their products and services with proven Internet leaders. It is an opportunity to create tremendous value for talented entrepreneurs building great technology companies, for the community of Web users, and for the Internet industry as a whole."
William J. Hawkins will join the Ventures Technology Fund as a General Partner serving the East Coast. Mr. Hawkins, a 20-year veteran of the software industry, came to the CMGI/Ventures family last year after a 4-year tenure with America Online (AOL), serving most recently as Vice President of Advanced Technology. While at AOL, Mr. Hawkins was instrumental in the design and development of integrated browser and messaging technology, as well as other key aspects of AOL's Internet platform strategy. Prior to joining AOL, Mr. Hawkins was the Chief Technical Officer of early CMGI company BookLink Technologies, where he pioneered the design and development of componentized Internet browser technology. CMGI sold BookLink Technologies to AOL in 1994.
"The creation of the Ventures Technology Fund is a natural evolution for us, given the rapid expansion and development of the Internet as a mission-critical business and consumer medium," said Peter Mills, Managing Partner with Ventures. "As demonstrated by the creation of our $1 billion B2B fund, we are strengthening the diversity of our original investment strategy and focusing top investing professionals on the sectors of the industry which present the greatest potential. Lior's and Bill's deep expertise will help us to identify and develop best-of-breed technologies, and to position them for success in the dynamic Internet infrastructure marketplace. In addition, we will continue to build a professional services support team that will provide superior service to our entrepreneurs and companies."
The Ventures Technology Fund has already made its first investment, joining a round of venture financing for DiamondBack Vision, Inc. (http://www.diamondbackvision.com/). DiamondBack is creating a new generation of multimedia products and services for commercial Internet markets. The company's technology applies computer vision principles to modern video compression practices. DiamondBack has demonstrated performance improvements over current state-of-the-art video compression products and services.
Mssrs. Yahalomi and Hawkins are actively reviewing business plans related to Internet infrastructure opportunities, with several funding announcements to follow. For information on how to submit a business plan, please see the Ventures Web site at ventures.com . Formed in 1995 by David Wetherell and Peter Mills, CMGI's Ventures has made more than 60 Internet venture capital investments. Its track record includes successful Internet IPOs such as Lycos, GeoCities, Silknet, Chemdex and Critical Path, as well as multiple strategic company sales. Two Ventures investments are currently in the IPO process (Furniture.com and Vicinity).
About CMGI and Ventures With 60 companies, CMGI, Inc. (Nasdaq: CMGI) represents the largest, most diverse network of Internet companies in the world. This network includes both CMGI operating companies and a growing number of synergistic investments through its venture capital affiliate, Ventures. CMGI leverages the technologies, content and market reach of its extended family of companies to foster rapid growth and industry leadership across its network, and the larger Internet Economy. Compaq, Intel, Microsoft, Pacific Century CyberWorks and Sumitomo hold minority positions in CMGI.
CMGI's majority-owned operating companies include Engage Technologies (Nasdaq: ENGA), NaviSite (Nasdaq: NAVI), 1ClickBrands, 1stUp.com, Activate.net, Activerse, AdForce, Adsmart, AltaVista, CMGI Solutions, Equilibrium, Flycast, iCAST, Magnitude Network, MyWay.com, NaviNet, SalesLink, Tribal Voice and ZineZone. The company's Ventures affiliates have ownership interests in Lycos, Inc. (Nasdaq: LCOS), Critical Path (Nasdaq: CPTH), Silknet (Nasdaq: SILK), Chemdex (Nasdaq: CMDX), MotherNature.com (Nasdaq: MTHR), Asimba.com, AuctionWatch.com, Aureate Media, blaxxun, BizBuyer.com, Boatscape.com, buyersedge.com, CarParts.com, CraftShop.com, eCircles.com, eGroups.com, EXP.com, FindLaw, FoodBuy.com, Furniture.com, Half.com, HotLinks, INPHO/HomePriceCheck.com, Intelligent/Digital, KOZ.com, Mondera.com, MyFamily.com, NextMonet.com, NextPlanetOver.com, Oncology.com, OneCore.com, PlanetOutdoors.com, Productopia, Raging Bull, SnapFish.com, Speech Machines, ThingWorld.com, Vicinity, Virtual Ink, Visto, Vstore and WebCT.
CMGI's corporate headquarters is located at 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA 01810, Telephone: 978-684-3600. Fax: 978-684-3814. Ventures has offices there as well as at 3000 Alpine Road, Menlo Park, CA 94028, 650-233-0333. Additional information is available on the company's Web sites at cmgi.com and ventures.com. Safe Harbor:
This release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events, and these statements are subject to important factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this release address a variety of subjects including, for example, the expected benefits resulting from the investments to be made. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements: the failure of companies in the fund to 01/24 11:08 CMGI and Ventures Launch New $1 Billion Technology Venture
Capital Fund
CMGI and Ventures Launch New $1 Billion Technology Venture Capital Fund
ANDOVER, Mass./MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 24, 2000--
Ventures Technology Fund to Focus on Next-Generation Internet
Enabling Technologies and Infrastructure Companies
CMGI, Inc., (NASDAQ: CMGI) and its venture capital affiliate, Ventures, today announced the launch of the Ventures Technology Fund. The new venture fund will focus exclusively on investing in and supporting the rapid development and growth of Internet enabling technologies and infrastructure companies that are synergistic with the CMGI and Ventures network. The fund will total up to $1 billion in capital and is immediately available for investment in this sector of the Internet economy.
The fund will be managed by Lior E. Yahalomi, Managing Partner of the Ventures Technology Fund. Mr. Yahalomi joins Ventures from his previous position as Vice President for New Ventures at Gateway, where he led a team responsible for Gateway's diversification into Internet, Internet access, and e-commerce businesses. He was at the forefront of Gateway's drive to move beyond its traditional hardware toward more "non-system" revenue and into the center of e-commerce. Prior to Gateway, Mr. Yahalomi was a Senior Vice President for Global Business Development at GE Capital where he led a global team responsible for mergers and acquisitions, new ventures, and global expansion. He also has several years of experience as a strategy consultant at Monitor Company in Cambridge, MA, where he developed and implemented strategies for high technology and consumer-related businesses. Mr. Yahalomi will be based in Ventures' Menlo Park, California office.
"I am extremely pleased to join Ventures to initiate, incubate and implement new technologies to serve the evolving Internet marketplace," said Mr. Yahalomi. "The extended CMGI and Ventures network - with its vast assets and unmatched technological and human resources - will provide companies with unparalleled opportunities to test and integrate their products and services with proven Internet leaders. It is an opportunity to create tremendous value for talented entrepreneurs building great technology companies, for the community of Web users, and for the Internet industry as a whole."
William J. Hawkins will join the Ventures Technology Fund as a General Partner serving the East Coast. Mr. Hawkins, a 20-year veteran of the software industry, came to the CMGI/Ventures family last year after a 4-year tenure with America Online (AOL), serving most recently as Vice President of Advanced Technology. While at AOL, Mr. Hawkins was instrumental in the design and development of integrated browser and messaging technology, as well as other key aspects of AOL's Internet platform strategy. Prior to joining AOL, Mr. Hawkins was the Chief Technical Officer of early CMGI company BookLink Technologies, where he pioneered the design and development of componentized Internet browser technology. CMGI sold BookLink Technologies to AOL in 1994.
"The creation of the Ventures Technology Fund is a natural evolution for us, given the rapid expansion and development of the Internet as a mission-critical business and consumer medium," said Peter Mills, Managing Partner with Ventures. "As demonstrated by the creation of our $1 billion B2B fund, we are strengthening the diversity of our original investment strategy and focusing top investing professionals on the sectors of the industry which present the greatest potential. Lior's and Bill's deep expertise will help us to identify and develop best-of-breed technologies, and to position them for success in the dynamic Internet infrastructure marketplace. In addition, we will continue to build a professional services support team that will provide superior service to our entrepreneurs and companies."
The Ventures Technology Fund has already made its first investment, joining a round of venture financing for DiamondBack Vision, Inc. (http://www.diamondbackvision.com/). DiamondBack is creating a new generation of multimedia products and services for commercial Internet markets. The company's technology applies computer vision principles to modern video compression practices. DiamondBack has demonstrated performance improvements over current state-of-the-art video compression products and services.
Mssrs. Yahalomi and Hawkins are actively reviewing business plans related to Internet infrastructure opportunities, with several funding announcements to follow. For information on how to submit a business plan, please see the Ventures Web site at ventures.com . Formed in 1995 by David Wetherell and Peter Mills, CMGI's Ventures has made more than 60 Internet venture capital investments. Its track record includes successful Internet IPOs such as Lycos, GeoCities, Silknet, Chemdex and Critical Path, as well as multiple strategic company sales. Two Ventures investments are currently in the IPO process (Furniture.com and Vicinity).
About CMGI and Ventures With 60 companies, CMGI, Inc. (Nasdaq: CMGI) represents the largest, most diverse network of Internet companies in the world. This network includes both CMGI operating companies and a growing number of synergistic investments through its venture capital affiliate, Ventures. CMGI leverages the technologies, content and market reach of its extended family of companies to foster rapid growth and industry leadership across its network, and the larger Internet Economy. Compaq, Intel, Microsoft, Pacific Century CyberWorks and Sumitomo hold minority positions in CMGI.
CMGI's majority-owned operating companies include Engage Technologies (Nasdaq: ENGA), NaviSite (Nasdaq: NAVI), 1ClickBrands, 1stUp.com, Activate.net, Activerse, AdForce, Adsmart, AltaVista, CMGI Solutions, Equilibrium, Flycast, iCAST, Magnitude Network, MyWay.com, NaviNet, SalesLink, Tribal Voice and ZineZone. The company's Ventures affiliates have ownership interests in Lycos, Inc. (Nasdaq: LCOS), Critical Path (Nasdaq: CPTH), Silknet (Nasdaq: SILK), Chemdex (Nasdaq: CMDX), MotherNature.com (Nasdaq: MTHR), Asimba.com, AuctionWatch.com, Aureate Media, blaxxun, BizBuyer.com, Boatscape.com, buyersedge.com, CarParts.com, CraftShop.com, eCircles.com, eGroups.com, EXP.com, FindLaw, FoodBuy.com, Furniture.com, Half.com, HotLinks, INPHO/HomePriceCheck.com, Intelligent/Digital, KOZ.com, Mondera.com, MyFamily.com, NextMonet.com, NextPlanetOver.com, Oncology.com, OneCore.com, PlanetOutdoors.com, Productopia, Raging Bull, SnapFish.com, Speech Machines, ThingWorld.com, Vicinity, Virtual Ink, Visto, Vstore and WebCT.
CMGI's corporate headquarters is located at 100 Brickstone Square, Andover, MA 01810, Telephone: 978-684-3600. Fax: 978-684-3814. Ventures has offices there as well as at 3000 Alpine Road, Menlo Park, CA 94028, 650-233-0333. Additional information is available on the company's Web sites at cmgi.com and ventures.com. Safe Harbor:
This release contains forward-looking statements based on current expectations or beliefs, as well as a number of assumptions about future events, and these statements are subject to important factors and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this release address a variety of subjects including, for example, the expected benefits resulting from the investments to be made. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements: the failure of companies in the fund to execute on their business plans successfully and the volatility of the marketplace may prevent the fund's companies from achieving a desired liquidity events. For a detailed discussion of these and other cautionary statements, please refer to CMGI's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including CMGI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.
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execute on their business plans successfully and the volatility of the marketplace may prevent the fund's companies from achieving a desired liquidity events. For a detailed discussion of these and other cautionary statements, please refer to CMGI's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including CMGI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.
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