======================================================
        VENTUREWIRE --- Monday, September 18, 2000
======================================================
           Private Company Business News
------ Published Daily by Technologic Partners -------
           http://technologicpartners.com
======================================================

Top Stories:

o Champion Ventures Takes Home $150 Million for New Fund
o Business.com Secures $61 Million in Series C Financing
o Ness Technologies In $255.6 Million Merger With Sapiens
o 3Com Ethernet Spinoff, Atrica, Has $16 Million First Round
o Ex-Tech Lawyer Reback's Voxeo Gets $35 Million First Round
o Egan-Managed Capital Launches $66.7 Million Second Fund

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Also in This Issue:

     New Money:
o Communications Firm Impinij Gets $15 Million, Round One
o Wireless Provider YadaYada Has $14.1 Million First Round
o Interactive Form and E-mail Firm Quinzer Raises First Round
o Streaming Media Firm Everstream Gets $8.4 Million Round One
o Web App Architecture Firm MTW Raises $26 Million First Funds
o Cardiobeat, Web-based Cardio Assessment Firm, Gets Funds
o Media Resource NewsMarket Launches with $3 Million Series A
o $15 Million Round Two for Wireless Broadband Firm PipingHot
o Management Services Firm Global Factory Raises $12 Million
o Wireless Tech Supplier Macalla Gets $7.4 Million Round Two
o Support Site SafeHarbor Raises $25 Million in Round Three
o MachineryLink, Online Resource For Farmers, Gets Funds
o Telecom E-Business Platform Company TeleGea Gets $1 Million

     New Products:
o Geographic Targeting Service for Advertisers Quova Launches
o New Internet Browser UltraBrowser.com Launches
o Online Securities Market Bondweb Launches Trading Platform
o Digital Pipe Launches E-learning Product, nCore

     New Deals:
o Online Mexican Food Portal MexGrocer.com Launches

     M&A:
o Healthcare Industry Tools Firms HealthMagic and MPACS Merge
o Online Petroleum Commerce FuelQuest to Merge with Oilspot

     New Directors:
o Chief Scientist of Vodafone Named to LinkAir's Board
o Former HNC Software President Joins Centor Software's Board

     New People:
o Strategic Data Names Delphi Information Founder as CEO

     VC Fund News:
o Quester to Launch New $70.2 Million Fund in U.K.
o The Atlantis Group Forms $6 Million Fund for Startups

     VW Corrections:
o Summa VentureWorks
o Venture Worx

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======= Top Stories =======

o Champion Ventures Takes Home $150 Million for New Fund

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Champion Ventures, which
raises funds from professional athletes for fund-to-fund
investments, said it secured $150 million for 2000
Champion Ventures, its second investment fund. New
investors to the fund include professional athletes,
such as Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson, tennis
star Andre Agassi, college basketball coaches Mike
Krzyzewski and Rick Pitino, basketball player Donyell
Marshall, and former football player Joe Montana,
who joins the firm as a general partner. Champion
Ventures was founded by former San Francisco 49ers
 Ronnie Lott and Harris Barton.
http://www.championventures.com/
_____________________________________________

o Business.com Secures $61 Million in Series C Financing

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Business.com, which provides
a directory of Internet businesses, said it raised
$61 million in its Series C funding. The Financial
Times Group led the round, which was co-led by Cahners
Business Information and included IndustryClick,
the McGraw-Hill Companies, and individual investor
Mort Zuckerman, who owns several print and media
publications. The Financial Times Group chief executive
officer Stephen Hill and Cahners Business Information
chief executive officer Marc Teren will sit on the
company's board of directors. The company will use
the funding to enhance its Web site's content and
features, further develop its technology, and for
international expansion. Business.com was incubated
by eCompanies.
http://www.business.com/
_____________________________________________

o Ness Technologies In $255.6 Million Merger With Sapiens

REHOBOT, Israel -- Ness Technologies, the largest
provider of information technology services in Israel,
and Sapiens International, which integrates information
technology and e-commerce through its software and
services, said they will merge. Sapiens will issue
40.9 million shares in a transaction valued at $255.6
million. Yaron Polak, the president and CEO of Ness,
and Aharon Fogel, Ness's chairman, will assume the
positions of president and CEO, and chairman, respectively,
of the merged company. Ron Zuckerman, who serves
as chairman of the Sapiens board, will serve on
the board of directors of the new entity. The merged
companies will operate under the Ness Technologies
name. As a result of the merger, Ness Technologies'
principal backers E.M. Warburg Pincus and the Wolfson
Group will retain their positions as significant
shareholders in the company.
http://www.ness.com/
http://www.sapiens.com/
_____________________________________________

o 3Com Ethernet Spinoff, Atrica, Has $16 Million First Round

HERTZELIYA, Israel -- Atrica, which intends to provide
optical ethernet technologies, launched with a $16
million first round. Investors in the round included
3Com, Benchmark Capital, Accel Partners, and Innovacomm,
the investment arm of French Telecom. 3Com incubated
the company prior to its launch, providing seed
funding, management, and development services. Both
the chairman and CEO of 3Com, Eric A. Benhamou,
and Alex Valkanski, of Benchmark Capital, will take
a seat on the company' board of directors. The company
expects its first product, which will integrate
Ethernet technology with optical networks in metropolitan
areas, to be available in the first quarter of the
new year.
http://www.atrica.com/
_____________________________________________

o Ex-Tech Lawyer Reback's Voxeo Gets $35 Million First Round

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. -- Voxeo, which provides services
that enable Web developers and service providers
to deploy applications for telephone users, said
it raised its first institutional round of funding
for $35 million. Voxeo was founded by Gary Reback,
a former lawyer for Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati,
who was an early force in the Microsoft anti-trust
case. Crosspoint Technology Ventures and Mayfield
Fund invested $25 million, with the remaining $10
million coming from undisclosed investors. Both
Crosspoint and Mayfield Fund will have representation
on the company's board. Voxeo raised a seed round
from individual investors earlier this year.
http://www.voxeo.com/
_____________________________________________

o Egan-Managed Capital Launches $66.7 Million Second Fund

BOSTON -- Egan-Managed Capital said it raised a
new $66.7 million fund for investing in early stage
startup companies primarily in the New England area.
A majority of the capital for the firm's second
fund was committed by the Egan family, led by Richard
Egan, a founder of the EMC. The fund will make initial
investments of between $2 million and $4 million
in 12-15 companies throughout the year. The firm
manages two funds with over $110 million in committed
capital. Egan-Managed Capital portfolio companies
include Network Engines, Top Layer Networks, Lineo,
and Softrax.
http://www.egancapital.com/

======= New Money =======

o Communications Firm Impinij Gets $15 Million, Round One

SEATTLE -- Impinj, an adaptive communications company,
said it recently secured $15 million in its first
round of financing from lead investors ARCH Venture
Partners and Madrona Venture Group. The company's
founders are Dr. Carver Mead of the California Institute
of Technology, Dr. Chris Diorio of the University
of Washington, and Todd Humes, formerly of TRW,
Inc. Tom Alberg from Madrona and Patrick Ennis from
ARCH have joined Impinj's board of directors.
http://www.impinj.com/
_____________________________________________

o Wireless Provider YadaYada Has $14.1 Million First Round

NEW YORK -- YadaYada, an integrated service provider
and personalized Web portal, said it closed its
first round with $14.1 million from ABS Ventures,
Deutsche Bank AG London, and BMO Nesbitt Burns'
Halyard Capital Fund. The company raised $7 million
in July from angel investors including former U.S.
Congressman Jack Kemp, General Electric Chairman
Jack Welch, DLJ Worldwide co-founder Dan Lufkin,
13D Research's founder and wireless technology expert
Kiril Sokoloff, and other undisclosed investors.
http://www.yadayada.com/
_____________________________________________

o Interactive Form and E-mail Firm Quinzer Raises First Round

NEW YORK -- Quinzer, a company that provides Web
sites that enable users to create interactive forms
and e-mail in text, voice, video, or documents,
said it raised an undisclosed ammount of first round
funding from NF Shops, a South Port, Conn.-based
Web site developer and ISP supplier. The company
said the funds will be used for further product
development and marketing of its new database service.
Prior funding came from individual investors.
http://www.quinzer.com/
_____________________________________________

o Streaming Media Firm Everstream Gets $8.4 Million Round One

CLEVELAND -- Everstream, which provides locally
branded versions of its digital network of music,
news, entertainment and advertising primarily to
newspaper Web sites, said it raised $8.4 million
in its first round of funding from Knight Ridder
Ventures, Gannett Company, Pulitzer, and Capstar
Partners. The company said it will use the funds
for product development, building an advertising
sales staff, and marketing.
http://www.everstream.com/
_____________________________________________

o Web App Architecture Firm MTW Raises $26 Million First Funds

MISSION WOODS, Kan. -- MTW, which provides Web-related
application architecture and development services,
said it has received $26 million in equity investment
from the Halifax Group. The investment is the company's
first outside funding. The deal offers the Halifax
Group a 45% stake in MTW, which is primarily backed
by individuals within the company. MTW said it will
use the investment for product development, and
to build marketing and sales offerings. Telephone
913-236-8400.
_____________________________________________

o Cardiobeat, Web-based Cardio Assessment Firm, Gets Funds

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Cardiobeat.com, the developer
of a tool used for assessing cardiovascular performance
over the Web, said it has secured an undisclosed
amount of funding from Incubate.com as part of its
first round of funding. The company said it will
use the funds to manufacture and test its product.
http://www.cardiobeat.com/
_____________________________________________

o Media Resource NewsMarket Launches with $3 Million Series A

NEW YORK -- The NewsMarket, an Internet site that
journalists, media relations professionals and freelance
producers can use to source, share and sell broadcast-quality
news video, announced its launch. The company said
it raised $3 million in its Series A funding from
PSINet and Barn Ventures LLC. The funds will be
used to add more features to the Web site and to
build its sales force. The NewsMarket kicks off
with coverage from the Olympic games in Sidney,
offering raw footage and finished reports focused
on the business, human interest and background aspects
of the Olympic events.
http://www.thenewsmarket.com/
_____________________________________________

o $15 Million Round Two for Wireless Broadband Firm PipingHot

LONDON -- PipingHot Networks, which develops a high
capacity broadband fixed wireless access system
in the 3.5 Ghz frequency band, said it raised $15
million in its second round of funding. The round
was led by Carlyle Internet Partners Europe and
included previous investors Atlas Ventures and Kennet
Capital. The company said it will use the funding
for development of its initial product through commercialization.
The company will also use the capital to increase
its staff from 60 to 100 employees. As a result
of the investment, Hossam Galal of Carlyle Internet
Partners Europe will take a seat on the PipingHot
Networks board of directors.
http://www.pipinghotnetworks.com/
_____________________________________________

o Management Services Firm Global Factory Raises $12 Million

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Global Factory, a developer
of Web-based services for production management,
said it received $12 million in a round of funding
that included Evergreen 3, Apax Israel, and Koor
Venture Capital. Global factory provides its network
members with an extended enterprise production management
service.
http://www.globalfactory.com/
_____________________________________________

o Wireless Tech Supplier Macalla Gets $7.4 Million Round Two

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Macalla Software, a provider
of mobile Internet and multi-channel enabled software
products, said it secured $7.4 million in its second
round of funding. Investors were Reuters Greenhouse
Fund, 3i Group, and the Guinness Ulster Bank Equity
Fund. The funds will be used for expanding Macalla's
sales and marketing operations.
http://www.macalla.com/
_____________________________________________

o Support Site SafeHarbor Raises $25 Million in Round Three

SATSOP, Wash. -- SafeHarbor.com, which provides
Web-based self-help customer support services to
online businesses, said it raised $25 million in
its third round from investors OVP, Barnard & Co.,
Protege Virtual Management, Wheatley Partners and
Washington Mutual. The company said it plans to
use the funds to expand its staff to over 400 employees
and to open customer support centers on the East
Coast and in Europe. Steve Chang of Barnard & Co.
will join OVB partners Chad Waite and Bill Miller,
and founders Brian Sterling, Bo Wandell and Mic
Dinsmore on the company's board of directors. Jay
Wood, founder and former CEO of Silknet Software,
resigned from the board of directors for undisclosed
reasons.
http://www.safeharbor.com/
_____________________________________________

o MachineryLink, Online Resource For Farmers, Gets Funds

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- MachineryLink, an online resource
for agricultural equipment cost management, said
it received an investment of an undisclosed amount
from Vance Internet, the investment arm of Vance
Publishing, a publisher of agriculture and other
industry journals. MachineryLink is also backed
by October Capital. The company said the funds would
go towards product development and to hire additional
staff.
http://www.machinerylink.com/
_____________________________________________

o Telecom E-Business Platform Company TeleGea Gets $1 Million

WALTHAM, Mass. -- TeleGea, which provides an Internet
business platform for telecoms, said it raised over
$1 million from strategic partner Nissho Iwai, a
Japanese international trading company, as part
of its third round. The company said it plans to
expand its operations to the Far East market. Nissho
Iwai's funding is part of the $42 million third
round financing raised in July and led by Investor
AB.
http://www.telegea.com/

======= New Products =======

o Geographic Targeting Service for Advertisers Quova Launches

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Quova, developer of technology
that aims to enable online advertisers, ad networks,
and Internet businesses to geographically target
their ads based on the location of an Internet user,
said it has launched. Its first service, GeoPoint,
gives Internet commerce companies, content providers,
and online advertisers the capacity to recognize
automatically the geographic location of Internet
visitors in real-time. Quova has raised $13.6 million
in two separate rounds and is backed by SOFTBANK,
IDG Ventures, Fidelity Ventures, and Nexus Group.
http://www.quova.com/
_____________________________________________

o New Internet Browser UltraBrowser.com Launches

ATLANTA -- UltraBrowser.com, a free Internet browser,
announced its launch. UltraBrowser.com, which is
compatible with Microsoft's Internet Explorer standard,
provides customized personal space for maintaining
favorite sites and enables users to translate multilingual
content. The company is raising second round funding
after securing an initial $4.7 million from a group
of individual investors that included Ron Anderegg,
the principal of SouthNet Telecom, and Noveen Shanana,
a principal at Systech.
http://www.ultrabrowser.com/
_____________________________________________

o Online Securities Market Bondweb Launches Trading Platform

SEATTLE -- Bondweb, which provides an online marketplace
for buying and selling mortgage-backed securities,
said it launched its trading platform. The platform
supports an electronic exchange that enables buyers
and sellers to trade in real time. Bondweb raised
$1.3 million in a Series A round from individual
investors and will either close on a Series B round
within the next 6 weeks or form strategic alliances
in leiu of new fundraising. Bondweb's services include
a database and search engine, anonymity for traders,
and real-time trading services.
http://www.bondweb.com/
_____________________________________________

o Digital Pipe Launches E-learning Product, nCore

FOSTER CITY, Calif. -- Digital Pipe, an intranet
service provider for delivering rich media content
to corporate desktops, announced the launch of nCore,
the company's first product, a platform for delivering
online education applications. Investors for Digital
Pipe include Mellon Ventures, Oasis Ventures, the
Groszner Fund of CD & R, and individual investors.
http://www.digitalpipe.net/

======= New Deals =======

o Online Mexican Food Portal MexGrocer.com Launches

SAN DIEGO -- MexGrocer.com, an online shopping portal
selling authentic Mexican foods and related products,
announced its launch. The Web site offers a large
selection of non-perishable Mexican foods and other
products, ranging from tacos and spices to cookbooks
and bath soaps. Investors for MexGrocer.com include
Royal Crown Foods and individual investors.
http://www.mexgrocer.com/

======= M&A =======

o Healthcare Industry Tools Firms HealthMagic and MPACS Merge

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- HealthMagic, which develops
Web-enabled tools for the healthcare industry, and
Modular Post Acute Care Systems (MPACS), developer
of software and network management tools for outpatient
management organizations, have signed a definitive
agreement to merge. Financial terms of the transaction
were not disclosed. The merged company will be named
CareCompass Solutions. The administrative, marketing
and sales executive team will be located in Carlsbad
and the technology group will be based in Columbia,
South Carolina. HealthMagic is backed by Adventist
Health Systems. MPACS was internally funded.
http://www.carecompass.com/
_____________________________________________

o Online Petroleum Commerce FuelQuest to Merge with Oilspot

HOUSTON -- FuelQuest, which hosts private marketplaces
and offers an online marketplace platform and resource
planning service for petroleum marketers, said it
signed a letter of intent to merge with Oilspot.com,
which provides Internet commerce services for the
lubricants industry, for an undisclosed amount.
FuelQuest received $14 million in April from AC
Ventures and Lehman Brothers Venture Partners.
http://www.oilspot.com/
http://www.fuelquest.com/

======= New Directors =======

o Chief Scientist of Vodafone Named to LinkAir's Board

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- LinkAir Communications, the
developer of a patented, wireless technology known
as Large Area Synchronized Code Division Multiple
Access (LAS-CDMA), said it has appointed William
C.Y. Lee as chairman of its board. Mr. Lee joins
LinkAir from Vodafone Airtouch, a mobile telecommunications
company, where he served as the chief scientist.
He also spent 15 years developing wireless technology
for Bell Labs. LinkAir Communications is backed
by undisclosed institutional investors.
http://www.linkair.com/
_____________________________________________

o Former HNC Software President Joins Centor Software's Board

IRVINE, Calif. -- Centor Software, a business-to-business
firm that provides information storage and manipulation
techniques for multiple interaction partners, said
it has appointed Robert North to its board of directors.
Mr. North was CEO, president, and director of HNC
Software. He also served as a member of the technical
staff for the satellite central office of Aerospace
Corporation. Centor is backed by the individual
investor group, TechHarvest Group.
http://www.centor.com/

======= New People =======

o Strategic Data Names Delphi Information Founder as CEO

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Strategic Data, a provider
of real-time optimization technology, announced
Richard R. Janssen as the company's new chief executive
officer. He replaces co-founder Lee Cooper, who
will serve as chairman of the board. Mr. Janssen
co-founded two companies: Delphi Information Systems,
an insurance software company, and Homestore.com,
a network of home and real estate related sites.
Strategic Data is backed by Smart Technology Ventures,
J Net Venture Fund I, Constellation Ventures, and
a group of private investors through Ziffren, Brittenham,
Branca and Fischer.
http://www.strategicdatacorp.com/

======= VC Fund News =======

o Quester to Launch New $70.2 Million Fund in U.K.

LONDON -- Quester announced it will launch a new
GBP 50 million ($70.2 million) venture capital trust,
Quester VCT 4, in November. The trust will make
investments in private companies developing software,
Internet enabling technology, telecommunications
services, new media, leisure, healthcare, and life
sciences technology. The company's portfolio includes
publicly traded firms Orchestream and Surfcontrol.
Quester manages over $281.1 million and controls
13% of the total venture capital trust market in
the U.K.
http://www.quester.com/
_____________________________________________

o The Atlantis Group Forms $6 Million Fund for Startups

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- The Atlantis Group,
an angel investment group, said it has raised roughly
$6 million for a new fund, which could double through
add-ons. Atlantis said a number of individual and
institutional investors, including Silicon Valley
Bank, provided funding. The group said it plans
to invest between $250,000 and $1.5 million per
company in seed or startup rounds and expects to
partner with venture capital and other groups of
individual investors.
http://www.theatlantisgroup.com/

======= VW Corrections =======

o Summa VentureWorks

NEW YORK -- A story in the September 15 VentureWire
on the launch of Summa VentureWorks incorrectly
listed the URL for Summa Technologies. The correct
URL is http://www.summa-tech.com.
_____________________________________________

o Venture Worx

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An item in Thursday's VentureWire
about Venture Worx, which took a stake in Vertical
Think, contained incorrect information about the
number of shares the Venture Worx purchased. Venture
Worx now owns 3% percent of the company's 25 million
shares.
http://www.ventureworx.com/
http://www.verticalthink.com/

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