Cereva Networks Appoints Matrix and North Bridge Founders To Board of Directors; Paul Ferri and Edward Anderson Take Management Seats At Marlborough, Mass. Internet Storage Company.

Business/Technology Editors

MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 14, 2001

Cereva Networks today announced the appointment of Paul J. Ferri and Edward T. Anderson to its Board of Directors. Ferri is the founder and General Partner of venture capital firm Matrix Partners, LLP, Waltham, Mass. Anderson is the founder and Managing General Partner of North Bridge Ventures LLP, also based in Waltham. Both firms are early-round investors in Cereva.

With the appointments, the Cereva board now comprises Ferri; Anderson; Mahesh Ganmukhi, who was named president and CEO of Cereva in May; Raju Bopardikar, Cereva founder and CTO; and James Forese, chairman and CEO of IKON Office Solutions.

"The contributions in strategic vision, guidance and credibility that Paul Ferri and Ed Anderson will bring to Cereva cannot be overestimated," said Cereva's Mahesh Ganmukhi. "Not only do we expect Cereva to benefit enormously from their experience and stature but, considering the respective track records of their firms, we also believe that their appointment sends a clear message to the market about Cereva's long-term value and prospects."

Nation's Top VC Firms Backing Cereva

Investment sources have ranked Matrix as one of the best firms in the venture capital industry, with a 95 percent average annual return over the past decade. Matrix's Fund V, a $200m fund launched in 1998, is considered the top venture fund of all time, registering a 725 percent return by the end of last year. Portfolio clients have included such companies as Apollo, Cascade Communications, Sycamore Networks, Sonus Networks, ArrowPoint Communications and Openwave Systems.

Among North Bridge's many successes are the 80 companies in which the firm has invested over the last seven years. Portfolio clients have included Wellfleet, Cascade, Sycamore, Redstone Communications, Arris Networks, Sonus and ArrowPoint.

Additionally, both Ferri and Anderson have been named to the Forbes "Midas 50" list - an annual ranking by the magazine rating the most successful VCs in the nation based on the performance of their backed companies and their ability to create wealth.

Internet Storage Under Development

Cereva is developing a revolutionary storage architecture purpose-built for the unique needs of Internet data centers. Combining massively scalable storage, fault-tolerant computing and high-speed networking in a single, flexible system, the system will enable Internet data centers, such as those managed by Web hosting companies, large content providers and service providers, to greatly accelerate Web-content delivery, reduce infrastructure and operating costs, and significantly improve profitability.

Since the announcement of the company in January of this year, Cereva has been recognized not only by the editors of Red Herring, who named it to the Red Herring 100 list for 2001, but also by Network World, who selected the company in April as one of the country's "Top 10 Start-ups to Watch."

About Cereva Networks

Cereva Networks Inc., founded in 1998, is delivering the industry's first Internet Storage system to enable Web content and service providers to accelerate content delivery while simplifying their infrastructures and scaling capacity and transaction performance well beyond existing capabilities. Headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, Cereva currently employs approximately 175 people. To date, Cereva has received nearly $110 million in financing from such investors as Matrix Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners, Oak Investment Partners, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC), Global Crossing Ventures, Inc., Worldview Technology Partners, Comdisco Ventures (NYSE: CDO), and Sumitomo Corporation. For more information, visit Cereva's Web site at www.cereva.com, or call 866-500-5007.

Cereva, the VA logo, and The Internet Storage People are trademarks of Cereva Networks Inc. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.