BERKELEY, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–July 29, 2003–Media Publisher, Inc., (MPI) a provider of enterprise software for rich-media publishing automation and management, today announced the completion ofits Series A venture capital funding round of $1.3 million. Silicon Valley-based The Angels’ Forum and The Halo Fund co-led the round, with participation from Garage Technology Ventures and severalindividual private investors. MPI will use the capital to accelerate growth through sales and marketing initiatives, broader strategic partnerships, and continued research and development. This roundof funding follows the company’s successful spin off from Inktomi Corp. and Yahoo! Inc. in January 2003.
“It is gratifying to see that our business plan of addressing the growing demand of Fortune 2000 companies to deploy rich media applications is confirmed by the investment community,” said Rod Bacon, chief executive officer, Media Publisher, Inc. “Gaining the quick confidence of quality investors during a challenging economy is a strong validation of our customer acquisition strategy, and strengths of our core technology and partner relationships. This investment enables us to continue our growth, and transform how rich media helps enterprise customers meet their critical business needs.”
“Media Publisher has been on a fast track since it was launched earlier this year,” said Guy Kawasaki, founder/CEO of Garage Technology Ventures. “Our investment decision was based on Media Publisher’s business model and proven traction. With an experienced management team, cutting-edge and proven technology, and partnerships with industry leaders, we see great potential for the company to accelerate its success.”
“We are excited about the impact that Media Publisher will have on corporations, government agencies, and other enterprises,” said Kimberlie Cerrone, managing member of The Halo Fund and The Angels’ Forum. “Media Publisher allows the promise of digital media to be fulfilled.”
“There is a growing demand in the global workforce for rich media communications over the Internet and corporate intranets,” said Lawrence Orans, a principal analyst for Gartner Inc. “We believe applications that make it easier for the enterprise to implement and leverage rich media will play a key role in the evolving landscape of business communication tools.”
About Media Publisher, Inc.
Media Publisher Inc. (MPI) provides software which helps large organizations accelerate and streamline the deployment, creation, delivery, and consumption of rich media by eliminating technical complexity from the media publishing process. Working with premier channel partners including Cisco, IBM and RealNetworks, MPI solves the live and on-demand training, marketing, corporate communications and meeting broadcast needs of Fortune 2000 companies. For more information about MPI, visit www.media-publisher.com.
About The Angels’ Forum
The Angels’ Forum (TAF) is an early-stage investment organization comprised of 25 private equity investors who are supported by a professional financial services management team. TAF applies the rigor, structure and portfolio management of traditional venture capital investing to earlier stage angel investing. The private equity investors affiliated with TAF (the “Angels”) are all successful business executives and entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds. For more information about TAF, visit www.angelsforum.com.
About The Halo Fund
The Halo Fund is a venture capital fund investing in early stage companies located in Silicon Valley. Started in 2000, The Halo Fund has invested in over 25 companies. For more information about The Halo Fund, visit www.halofund.com.
About Garage Technology Ventures
Garage Technology Ventures is a venture capital investment bank for high tech companies and investors. Garage Technology Ventures offers private placement and M&A advisory services, as well as direct investment, for companies in the enterprise software and network infrastructure sectors. Since 1999, Garage has completed 88 transactions raising nearly $400 million in venture capital for clients including Business Layers, Digital Envoy, Digital Fountain and Tripwire, among others, through its wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary, Garage Securities, Inc. For more information about Garage Technology Ventures, visit www.garage.com.
