ART Advanced Recognition Technologies, Inc. Raises Over $6M; Financing Round Led by Bessemer Venture Partners.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 13, 2004

ART Advanced Recognition Technologies, Inc., maker of market-leading recognition software for voice and handwriting, today announced that it had closed over $6M financing round led by Bessemer Venture Partners and including current investors. The funds will be used to accelerate worldwide sales and marketing initiatives.

Founded in 1990, ART is currently cash-flow positive. Its technology is embedded in most mass-market mobile devices, such as cellular phones, smart phones, mobile communicators, PDAs, handhelds, and automotive systems, and offers accurate and quick response in all major Western European, American and Far East languages. Its speaker-independent name- and digit-dialing (the ability for the device to recognize a spoken name or number without special training regardless of dialect) allows for eyes and hands-free device operation, a legal requirement in an increasing number of jurisdictions. ART's handwriting recognition systems allow input regardless of penmanship, even from small cell-phone screens. A number of major mobile device manufacturers, including Motorola, LG Electronics, Siemens, Panasonic, NEC and BenQ, have adopted ART's solutions to serve the needs of millions of customers.

"Bessemer has a long history of identifying best-of-breed technologies that are well placed for long-term growth in their industries," said Robert Goodman, the general partner in Bessemer's Larchmont, N.Y. office who led the ART investment. "ART's speaker-independent recognition solutions are extremely exciting and promise to become the standard in the global mobile device market. ART is a solid, well-capitalized company and we look forward to helping it expand its presence in this interesting and high-potential area."

"We are delighted that Bessemer has chosen to participate in this round with our previous investors," said Eran Aharonson, ART's CEO. "As an acknowledged pioneer in the U.S. venture capital market, we see their support as a sign of the uniqueness and importance of ART's technology."

More About ART Advanced Recognition Technologies

Established in 1990, ART is the acknowledged market leader in embedded speech and handwriting recognition software for mass-market mobile devices. With a decade of award-winning innovation behind it, ART develops and markets technologically superior solutions for the control and command of mobile devices through the human voice and natural handwriting. The company's proprietary technologies provide next-generation user interface solutions for cellular handsets, smart phones, mobile communicators, PDAs and handhelds, and automotive systems.

Today, ART's embedded software-only solutions are deployed in dozens of product lines from industry leaders such as Motorola, LGE, Xelibri by Siemens, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, NEC, BenQ, Pogo, Logitech, AlphaCell, GVC, Quanta, Compal, Inventec, Casio, Maxon, RAKS, Siemens Automotive, Franklin, PaceBlade, Hitachi and others.

ART has strategic and technological partnerships with industry leaders including: Texas Instruments, Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, Motorola Semiconductors, Intel, Infineon, Agere, ADI, TTPCom, DSPG, ParthusCeva, Microsoft, Symbian, UIQ, SVOX, Accelent Systems, Phone-Or and others.

Based in the United States with sales offices on the East and West Coasts, ART maintains a wholly owned Israeli subsidiary that conducts research and development. Additional information about ART is available at: http://www.artcomp.com.

More about Bessemer Venture Partners.

Bessemer Venture Partners carries on one of the longest-standing private venture capital operations in the United States. With more than a billion dollars under management, BVP has almost a century's experience of investing in and helping to build innovative, high-growth companies. Many leading innovators, including Parametric Technology, Ciena, VeriSign, Staples, Sonus Networks, and Gartner, selected BVP as their early-stage venture partner. BVP has offices in the top technology markets of the U.S. -- California, Massachusetts, and New York.

For more information, visit www.bvp.com, or contact Ann Leamon, Communications Director, at [e-mail] or 781-237-6050.