Alphion Corporation 4 Industrial Way West Eatontown, New Jersey 07724 USA www.alphion.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Chris Peterson Office: +1 609 936 9001 x7049 Mobile: +1 908 720 1250 cpeterson@alphion.com
ALPHION CORPORATION CLOSES $15 MILLION IN SERIES B FUNDING, BRINGING TOTAL TO $32 MILLION *** EATONTOWN, NJ -- March 18, 2002 -- Alphion Corporation, a leading provider of enabling photonic technologies for the deployment of all-optical networks, today announced that it has completed its second round of private financing totaling $15 million. The investment was led by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Tallwood Venture Capital. First-round investors Battery Ventures and Cypress Semiconductor, also participated in this round of funding, bringing the aggregate venture investment to $32 million. Alphion will use the funds to complete the development of its suite of products for next-generation photonic networks. The product line will be formally announced in the second half of 2002. "It is extremely gratifying to receive the backing and financial support of partners such as Goldman Sachs, Tallwood Venture Capital, Battery Ventures, and Cypress Semiconductor," said Dr. Bharat P. Dave, chairman, president and CEO of Alphion Corporation. "This investment is a significant endorsement of the Alphion value proposition and team." Alphion is completing development of proprietary technologies and products that eliminate the expensive electronic intervention required by today’s optical networks. Once complete, Alphion’s product suite will help service providers to deploy cost-effective, pure photonic networks that support next-generation services. "Alphion’s photonic technology has the potential to reduce the capital costs and operational expenses associated with building and maintaining optical networks," said Abraham Bleiberg, a managing director at Goldman Sachs. "With technology that supports transparent migration from 10 gigabit to 40 gigabit services, and beyond, Alphion could deliver an important building block of future communication networks." Dado Banatao, managing partner at Tallwood Venture Capital, is equally enthusiastic about Alphion’s future. "As a pioneer in breakthrough photonic communications technologies, Alphion is well positioned to become a market leader in this emerging space," said Banatao. "We have been very impressed with Alphion’s execution and agility in this dynamic environment. This investment underscores our confidence in Alphion’s team, technology and future," said Todd Dagres, general partner at Battery Ventures.
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About Battery Ventures Battery Ventures is a premiere venture capital firm largely focused on early stage technology investments. With a team of more than 60 professionals and nearly two decades of success, Battery has the people, experience and capital to guide emerging technology companies to category dominance. Since 1983, the firm has invested worldwide in more than 130 companies across the communications, software and Internet/e-Business industries. From its offices in Wellesley, MA, and San Mateo, CA, the partnership manages over $1.8 billion in committed capital. For more information, visit www.battery.com About Goldman, Sachs & Co. Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of services worldwide to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high net worth individuals. Founded in 1869, it is one of the oldest and largest investment banking firms. The firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong and other major financial centers around the world. For more information visit their Website, www.gs.com About Tallwood Venture Capital Tallwood Venture Capital strongly believes that technology is the key component of business in the new economy. With a focus on broadband communications and biosciences, revolutionary technology drives the firm’s investment strategy. Tallwood’s vision is to help entrepreneurs develop and grow technology-based startups into world-class companies. Tallwood Venture Capital is based in Palo Alto, CA. For more information visit their Website, www.tallwoodvc.com About Alphion Corporation Alphion Corporation is a provider of revolutionary photonic products that enable the deployment of all-optical networks. Founded in 2000 and based in Eatontown, NJ, the company is led by renowned optical networking expert Dr. Bharat P. Dave and funded by Battery Ventures, Cypress Semiconductor, Goldman Sachs, and Tallwood Venture Capital. For more information about Alphion and its line of highly scalable, cost-effective photonics-based network solutions, visit their Website at www.alphion.com. ###