FUSIONONE CLOSES $80M IN FUNDING WITH OPPENHEIMERFUNDS AS LEAD INVESTOR -- BRINGING TOTAL CAPITAL RAISED TO $140 MILLION
New Funding Endorses Company Vision of Seamlessly Bridging the Online and Offline World
San Jose, CA - October 30, 2000 - fusionOne, a pioneer in the development of next-generation Internet synchronization services, today announced it has secured $80 million in mezzanine round funding. Today's announcement brings fusionOne's total capital raised to date to approximately $140 million, and will support the accelerated growth of its business. This significant investment will provide fusionOne with the necessary resources to enhance its platform for the seamless exchange of information across devices and applications, continue to drive subscribers to its industry-acclaimed synchronization service, and deploy synchronization-enabled solutions through its partners. New investors in this financing round include OppenheimerFunds, Essex Investment Management, Graham Partners L.P., J. & W. Seligman & Co. Incorporated, Kemper Small Capitalization Equity Fund and the KVS-Small Cap Growth Fund managed by Scudder Kemper Investments, Inc., Pyramid Technology Ventures, Temasek Capital (Pte) Ltd., and Wit SoundView. The round also includes additional investments from 3Com, Access Technology Partners, Chase Capital Partners, Flatiron Partners, Hewlett-Packard Company, and fusionOne's original seed investor, El Dorado Ventures. "fusionOne has established itself as an innovator in the rapidly emerging market of delivering wireless data and connecting disparate devices," said Bruce Bartlett, Senior Vice President of OppenheimerFunds. "The company's unique architectural platform, innovative technology solutions, and business model places them at the forefront of addressing the combined challenges of convergence and interconnectivity." fusionOne has developed a next-generation platform for the exchange of data across multiple devices and applications. The first deliverable solution built on this platform is the company's highly praised Internet synchronization service, launched in May 2000, which provides the ability to automatically sync information between PCs, handheld devices, Web applications, and mobile phones. Unlike similar technologies that require direct contact between devices (i.e. connection cords or cables), fusionOne utilizes the Internet and wireless carrier services to automatically update devices with information changes, regardless of the device's physical location. fusionOne has recently expanded its service to include the fusionOne Mobile Desktop, allowing fusionOne subscribers instant access to all their personal information - email, contacts, calendar, files and bookmarks - from any web-enabled phone. The fusionOne mobile desktop, which will be syndicated to wireless carriers and portals worldwide, is built on fusionOne's underlying sync and data storage architecture. "This new round of funding is a tremendous vote of confidence in fusionOne, our technology, and our overarching vision," said Rick Onyon, president and co-founder of fusionOne. "The backing and support of such an impressive roster of companies will enable us to bring to market additional services and partner solutions built on our platform for connecting disparate devices and applications." About OppenheimerFunds, Inc. About fusionOne, Inc. |
