Aurigin Systems Secures $35 Million Private Financing; Completes Management Team.

Business Editors

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 9, 2000

Capital Infusion Will Solidify Aurigin's Leadership Position

in Intellectual Property Asset Management

Aurigin Systems Inc., the global leader in intellectual asset management solutions, announced today that it has finalized a mezzanine round of financing totaling $35 Million.

At the same time, Aurigin announced that it has completed its management team and positioned the company to maximize opportunities in intellectual asset management. The company promoted Aurigin founder Kevin Rivette from Chief Executive Officer to Chairman of the Board; Dan' l Lewin from President to Chief Executive Officer; and Paul Germeraad from Chief Technology Officer to Chief Knowledge Officer. In addition, the company named marketing veteran, Judy Ross, Vice President of Marketing, and Julia O'Connor Chief Financial Officer.

Earmarked for the enhancement of Aurigin sales and marketing initiatives, the financing was led by American Express and joined by a group of new investors including Kistler Associates, Cambridge Technology Partners and Archery Capital. All existing investors including Battery, Technology Crossover Ventures, Reuters, SAP, Pacific Technology Ventures (IDG), CDC-Valeurs De Croissance and PS Ventures also joined this round of funding.

&uot;The additional capital and senior management strengthen our leadership in intellectual asset management at a pivotal time,&uot; said Lewin. &uot;The cumulative strategic and operational experience attained with these changes provide us with the resources for delivering solutions that permit our clients to derive maximum value from their intellectual property assets.&uot;

In his new role as Chairman of the Board Kevin Rivette, a former Silicon Valley patent attorney, will focus on strategic opportunities, including those relating to intellectual property management raised in his critically-acclaimed book,&uot;Rembrandts in the Attic: Unlocking the Hidden Value of Patents&uot; (Harvard University Business School, 2000).

As CEO Dan'l Lewin will be responsible for the next phase of company growth, focusing on global expansion of company operations and IAM marketplace partnerships. As President, Lewin lead Aurigin's business strategy and operations. Since the company's inception, Lewin has been a member of the board and is responsible for evolving Aurigin's business model to focus on solutions for intellectual asset management. Prior to joining Aurigin, Lewin held senior management positions at Apple Computer, Go Corporation and NeXT, Inc., which he co-founded with Steve Jobs. He is a graduate of Princeton University.

Paul Germeraad moves from Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of R& Operations to Chief Knowledge Officer. He will focus on creating best corporate practices for patent management and leveraging the Aurigin solution for commercial advantage. Prior to joining Aurigin, Germeraad was Senior Vice President of Research and Development for Avery Dennison. He is current president of the Industrial Research Institute. He was awarded his Ph.D. from University of California Irvine.

Judy Ross, VP of Marketing, will lead product management, corporate communications and business development. Ross brings 20 years of strategic marketing, product management and business development experience to Aurigin's integrated marketing initiative. Most recently she was Director of Partners &Alliances at Documentum, a Web content management company (Nasdaq:DCTM). In her position at the Web content management solutions provider, Ross designed and implemented e-commerce and Web content management alliance strategy and lead business development for high technology. Previously, she headed marketing for the software distribution division of Intel and telecommunications division of IBM. Ross received her masters in business from Pepperdine University.

Julia O'Connor, CFO, will oversee corporate financial operations, information systems, and human resources. She will also oversee long-term company growth and serve as the direct liaison to investors and the financial community. Prior to joining Aurigin, O'Connor served as CFO at Docent Inc., where she was responsible for finance, operations, MIS, and human resources and assisted in the development of the company's business model and business infrastructure. Before her tenure at Docent, O'Connor was CFO at Reply Corporation. She was also a General Partner at Diversified Growth Associates, and has ten years of experience as an investment banker at E.F. Hutton. She is a graduate of Smith College and holds a masters in business from Stanford University.

About Aurigin Systems

Founded in 1992, Aurigin Systems Inc. is the global leader in solutions for the intellectual asset management (IAM) market. Aurigin's Aureka Foundation Server is a scaleable Internet enabled platform for Intellectual Property Asset Management (IPAM). Aureka solutions are in use by customers today in industries such as high tech and pharmaceutical, where quickly transforming ideas into revenue helps companies maximize their market value. Aurigin products enable customers to design long-term, profitable business and product strategies, by allowing companies to take stock of their intellectual property assets and relate them to business issues. Aurigin is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif. For more information, telephone [phone], visit http://www.aurigin.com or send email to [e-mail].