| [January 26, 2005] |
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Siemens Venture Capital Makes Strategic Investment in Verimatrix; Siemens Venture Capital GmbH Co-Leads Round With Mission Ventures And Existing Investors
SAN DIEGO and SAN JOSE, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Jan. 26, 2005 -- Siemens Venture Capital GmbH (SVC), a subsidiary of Siemens AG, announced today a strategic investment in Verimatrix, a leading developer of content protection and security solutions. The round was co-led by new investors Mission Ventures and Siemens Venture Capital, with follow-on investments from Verimatrix' existing shareholders.
In addition, Verimatrix has signed a worldwide OEM agreement with Siemens AG. Under the terms of the agreement, Siemens AG will incorporate Verimatrix security products for Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) into its SURPASS Home Entertainment Solution.
This expanded relationship with Verimatrix is a part of Siemens' larger strategy to grow its IPTV business. In addition to providing Siemens with worldwide resale rights, Verimatrix and Siemens will collaborate on product integration and development. The Verimatrix products, which enable operators and content owners to protect their assets and revenue streams by encrypting and watermarking premium broadcast and Video on Demand content, will be marketed as part of Siemens' Home Entertainment Solution.
"Telecom operators are rushing to add entertainment to their consumer broadband offerings, and protection of the digital content is a crucial enabler for this new class of service," commented Gerd Goette, Investment Partner at Siemens Venture Capital. "The Verimatrix implementation sets the benchmark for content security in IPTV solutions."
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to support Verimatrix; clearly the industry leader in IPTV security solutions," said Ted Alexander, Managing Partner at Mission Ventures. "We were attracted by the outstanding product positioning, movie studio endorsements, and strong customer references. We also look forward to working with the management team," continued Alexander.
"We are honored to have Siemens and Mission Ventures as investors and partners in this round," said Ross Cooper, President and CEO of Verimatrix. Verimatrix has a rapidly growing customer and revenue base, the investment funds will be used to enable the further expansion of sales, marketing, and product development efforts." "Verimatrix benefits from Siemens' financial strength and global distribution channels, while Siemens adds breadth to its Home Entertainment Solution" said Cooper further.
"One of the key factors for a successful IPTV deployment is the availability of premium content, which is only made available if adequate security is in place," said Steve Oetegenn, Verimatrix SVP of Global Sales and Marketing. "Through the integration of the Verimatrix solution, the SURPASS solution provides the end-to-end security that has become a requirement of all major content providers"
About Verimatrix
Founded in 1999, Verimatrix is a leading provider of digital content protection solutions with numerous satisfied customers in North America, Western Europe, Japan, South Korea and Australia. Verimatrix offers provider approved, carrier-class solutions specifically for today's bi-directional IPTV networks. Through the seamless integration of patented digital watermarking technology into its best-of-breed encryption solutions, Verimatrix provides the means to protect content and revenue streams and to detect and prosecute digital piracy, wherever it occurs within the distribution chain. Verimatrix has maintained excellent relationships with the major Hollywood studios by providing valuable anti-piracy solutions for the fight against rampant digital piracy.
For more information, please visit www.Verimatrix.com
About Siemens Venture Capital:
Siemens Venture Capital (SVC) is the $600 million corporate venture organization for Siemens AG, (NYSE:SI) one of the largest global electronics and engineering companies with reported worldwide sales of $91.3 billion in fiscal 2004. The goal of SVC is to identify and fund investments in emerging and innovative technologies that will enhance the core business scope of Siemens, particularly in Information and Communications, Automation and Control, Medical Solutions, Automotive Technology and Transportation Systems, Power, and Lighting.
With offices in Munich, San Jose (CA), Boston (MA) and through Siemens Israel, Ltd. in Herzliya near Tel Aviv, SVC has an active portfolio of more than 70 start-up companies and 30 venture capital funds, and plays a key role in the global network of innovation. More: www.siemensventurecapital.com
About Mission Ventures
Founded in 1996, Mission Ventures is a venture capital firm dedicated to building leading technology companies in Southern California. Mission Ventures specializes in start up and emerging growth companies in communications, semiconductors, software and technology-driven services. With over $400M under management, Mission Ventures has backed over 40 entrepreneurial companies; many of which have or are positioned to achieve success through IPO and M&A activity.
The Mission Ventures office is located in San Diego (CA). For more information, please visit www.missionventures.com.
This release contains forward-looking statements based on beliefs of Verimatrix management. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "forecast," "expect," "intend," "plan," "should," and "project" are used to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the actual results to be materially different, including, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance of new products or services and changes in business strategy. Actual results may vary materially from those projected here. Verimatrix does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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