Aprisa Receives Funding From VEBA Electronics, Completing $5 Million Series B Round From Industry Leaders.

Business Editors

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2000

Aprisa Inc., a Web-based Engineering Service Provider, today announced that it has received $1.5 million in funding from VEBA Electronics, Santa Clara, Calif.

VEBA Electronics is one of the leading semiconductor and computer-products distributors in the world and a subsidiary of VEBA AG, one of the largest industrial groups in Germany.

The new funding completes Aprisa's $5 million Series B round of financing. Aprisa announced last week it had secured $3.5 million from a consortium of venture capital funds led by Munich, Germany-based Siemens Venture Capital (SVC), the investment branch of the Siemens Group of Companies.

With this round of funding complete, Aprisa has the financial resources to build out its infrastructure and complete production of CircuitNet(TM), the company's revolutionary discovery tool for engineers that also represents a powerful online marketing channel for technology vendors. Aprisa will also use these funds to launch the company's Web site, www.theCubicle.com, which the company plans to make the definitive source of advanced technology for the EE community.

"Aprisa's powerful online discovery tools promise a new level of capability for our group's unmatched demand-creation strength," said Dr. Ferdinand Pohl, president and CEO of VEBA Electronics. "Designers value the VEBA Electronics group as the industry's top technical solutions provider. With the introduction of theCubicle.com, engineers will have another key resource in the electronic design automation process."

"We are excited to have VEBA Electronics as an investor," said Aprisa founder and CEO Martin Shum. "The company has access both to the technical-product manufacturers with whom we want to form partnerships and the engineers we want as end-users at theCubicle.com, our Web site designed to offer a host of research and discovery tools services to the global technology community. In addition, VEBA's thorough understanding of the semiconductor and technology industries will help us shape and improve our products to better serve our customers."

About Aprisa

Aprisa Inc., a Web-based Engineering Service Provider (ESP), speeds product to market by enabling a fast and thorough design discovery process. Aprisa's patent-pending rules-based search engine allows electronics design engineers to find, evaluate, and compare the latest in technology. Aprisa's next-generation solution is available at theCubicle.com. Aprisa is based in Westlake Village. For more information, visit www.theCubicle.com.

About VEBA Electronics

The VEBA Electronics group, with headquarters in Santa Clara, is one of the world's largest and fastest-growing forces in the distribution of semiconductors and computer products. Its member companies include four distribution groups: Wyle, EBV Elektronik and the Memec companies for semiconductors, and RK Systems for computer products. Insight Electronics, Unique Technologies and Impact Technologies are Memec companies covering the North American market. ATLAS Services provides logistics support and value-added services to the group's semiconductor distributors.

VEBA Electronics LLC, the group management company based in Santa Clara, is a subsidiary of VEBA AG, one of the largest industrial groups in Germany, with total sales in 1999 of $50 billion. Revenue for the VEBA Electronics group in 1999 reached $5.4 billion. Further information is available on the World Wide Web at www.veba-electronics.com.