AcceLight Networks Receives Solid Endorsement With $60 Million in Second Round Funding.

Business Editors

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 2001

Investors Show Continued Confidence in Next-generation

Optical Solutions Provider: AcceLight Networks Inc.

AcceLight Networks Inc. (www.accelight.com) today announced $60 million in new equity and debt financing that will be used primarily for strategic investment in product development and research, as well as to expand the company's sales and customer engagements in key North American and International markets.

In addition to AcceLight's initial investors, Menlo Ventures and Venrock Associates, the company attracted new venture capital from investment firms, including: CDIB Ventures, Granite Global Ventures, Mitsubishi Corporation , NIF Ventures, Stonewood Capital Management, Western Technology Investment, Whitecap Venture Partners and Vertex Management.

"We see huge potential in AcceLight's breakthrough optical switching products and technology, and as such we will support this seasoned management team," said Joo-Hock Chua, senior vice president, Vertex Management, co-lead investor in AcceLight's second round. "Photonic service switching addresses the issues at hand - OPEX and CAPEX reduction, with continued service differentiation for higher margin offering for service providers. As such, photonic service switching will play a significant role in the near- and long-term growth of the telecommunications industry."

"AcceLight Networks continues to impress the industry with their innovative technology and their business acuity," said Jim Timmins, managing director of NIF who co-led the round. "Our team is confident that AcceLight is leading the charge in the next telecommunications technological breakthrough."

"Despite the current market volatility, AcceLight generates huge investor excitement and interest," said John Jarve, managing director, Menlo Ventures. "We are not surprised to see that this investor confidence translated into an up round for AcceLight Networks."

The PhotoniX family, AcceLight's suite of photonic service switching systems, includes the PhotoniX 540 and the PhotoniX Core Manager. These products deliver AcceLight's photonic economics: unmatched scalability, service flexibility, capital and operational expense savings, and throughput for aggregation to the installed optical transmission infrastructure.

"Photonic economics will fundamentally change the way service providers approach their business by serving as the gateway to an all-optical networked world, allowing them to focus on managed growth and increased profitability," said Dr. Hyong Kim, founder and CEO, AcceLight Networks. "1998 through 2000 were characterized by core network build outs, while for 2000 to 2002 the focus is on metro and edge broadband. 2003 to 2005 and beyond will see the collapse of the aggregation and core into a high capacity switching layer. AcceLight is uniquely positioned to deliver breakthrough technology for massive scalability at each milestone."

"AcceLight Networks' focus on the business case, technical leadership, and service optimized roadmap clearly address these near- and long-term challenges to service delivery and network scaling," Kim added. "These new funds demonstrate confidence in that vision and in our assembled team, and will allow us to focus on meeting our goals without distraction or obstruction."

Based in Pittsburgh, Pa., AcceLight Networks is a privately held new generation designer and manufacturer of the industry leading Photonic Service Switch. The company was founded in 1999 with initial funding from Menlo Ventures and Venrock Associates. AcceLight Networks' solution forms the cornerstone to delivering switched services for the wavelength core. AcceLight Networks has assembled a world-class management and engineering team, headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, with R&D facilities in Ottawa, Canada.

For additional information, please contact AcceLight Networks at 613.596.4804 or visit www.accelight.com.