LIGHTNINGCAST SECURES $15.5 MILLION IN FUNDING

ALEXANDRIA, Va (January 22, 2001) - - Lightningcast (www.lightningcast.com), a company that inserts targeted audio and video ads into streaming media, today announced its second round of funding from Nokia Venture Partners, Redleaf Group Inc., and Birchmere Ventures. This second round of funding totals $15.5 million and follows an initial round of financing from Redleaf Group Inc., and Birchmere Ventures, of $4.7 million, in March of 2000.

"Lightningcast's streaming media ad placement technology has first mover advantage and is 'best of breed', uniquely positioning the company as a leader in the next generation of Internet infrastructure software. We are excited about the company's prospects in this fast growing streaming media space," said Tom Kenney, Principal, Nokia Venture Partners.

Jeff Bartlam, Lightningcast's CFO stated, "The value of our relationship with Nokia Venture Partners goes far beyond their investment dollars. Nokia Venture Partners has the industry contacts, the market expertise and portfolio company relationships to assist Lightningcast in its goal to be the standard for streaming media ad insertion technology."

The streaming media market is experiencing explosive growth. Nokia predicts that there will be more web-connected mobile handsets than PCs in the world as early as 2002. In addition, streaming media and online advertising is expected to grow dramatically over the next several years.

Lightningcast's technology and services enable webcasters to maximize revenue streams and advertisers to precisely target their prospective customers. "Securing investments from Nokia, Redleaf and Birchmere validates our business model," said Tom Des Jardins, CEO of Lightningcast. "This combined with the strong market demand for our products and services, speaks to our leadership position in the streaming media market."

About Lightningcast, Inc.
Lightningcast, Inc., a first-to-market leader, inserts video and audio ads into streaming media. Its technology meets the needs of webcasters, online publishers and advertisers. Lightningcast's affiliate network currently exceeds 20 partners. Headquartered in Northern Virginia, Lightningcast is a privately held corporation with offices also located in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and Los Angeles.

About Nokia Venture Partners
Launched in 1998, Nokia Venture Partners is a leader in mobile Internet investments. Backed by Nokia, Goldman Sachs, CDBWebTech, BMC Software and others, the USD$500 million fund builds partnerships with leading edge wireless technology companies targeting high-growth market opportunities around the world. Nokia has invested in the fund with the intent to gain exposure to markets and technologies beyond the reach of Nokia's current business unit strategies. Nokia Venture Partners has a strong track record of leveraging the firm's combined resources, experience and contacts to help build successful businesses. www.nokiaventurepartners.com.

About Redleaf Group, Inc
Redleaf Group is a technology operating company that leverages a powerful, digital GRID (Global Resource for Internet Development) to provide services and capital for seed stage Internet technology companies and communities. Redleaf provides its partner companies with market access, strategic counsel, and operational support from a team of seasoned professional managers whose specialties include finance, engineering, product development, systems integration, marketing and human capital management. These capabilities are offered today to partner companies through Redleaf Group's GRID in offices throughout the United States, Europe and soon in Asia. Established in December 1999, Redleaf's strategic investors include Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE:SFE), Novell (Nasdaq:NOVL), VentureBank@PNC, Mellon Ventures, Inc., and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HWP). www.redleaf.com

About Birchmere Ventures
Birchmere Ventures is the leading Pennsylvania-based venture fund focused on the Mid-Atlantic region. Previous investments include FreeMarkets, ServiceWare, CoManage, Mediasite, NeoLinear and Precision Therapeutics, generating returns exceeding 100% IRR. www.birchmerevc.com