Crimson Ventures Funds New Wu-Fu Chen Start-up; Legendary Entrepreneur Raises $7 Million for Geyser Networks.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 3, 1999--

Crimson Ventures, a leading global venture capital firm, today announced that the firm has just completed the first round of funding for data communications entrepreneur Wu-Fu Chen's latest start-up, Geyser Networks Inc. Crimson, along with the premier VC firm Sequoia Capital, co-led the first round of $7 million.

Crimson played a major role in incubating Geyser with Wu-Fu Chen. Mr. Chen has helped launch eleven successful networking companies in the past 15 years, including Cascade Communications, Inc., which went public in 1994 and was acquired for $2.6 billion three years later. Geyser is developing a new type of telecommunications access solution that maximizes the transmission of IP and other data over existing Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) voice networks. Mr. Chen and Gordon Lee, who was the founder of CopperCom and previously a lead engineer at NET and Ascend Communications, will head up the new company as CEO and president, respectively. Both will have board seats along with Crimson and Sequoia.

"Crimson was early to recognize the potential of our voice and data solution in the telecommunications market," said Wu-Fu Chen. "Their telecommunications expertise and contacts in the global marketplace make them an invaluable partner to Geyser, complimenting Sequoia's proven Silicon Valley expertise."

SONET access is currently a $2.5 billion market in the U.S., growing to $4 billion over the next five years, according to Communications Industry Researchers Inc., a Virginia-based market research firm.

"Geyser's solution will solve a major carrier problem of providing efficient bandwidth utilization for voice and data while preserving their existing investment in SONET networks and equipment," said John-Paul Ho, managing director at Crimson.

Crimson (www.crimsonventures.com) is a global venture capital firm with a $435 million fund from institutional and high net-worth individuals. The company specializes in early stage communications and Internet companies, leveraging their global expertise in these areas. Other U.S. companies funded by Crimson include @Road, Anda Networks, DMW Worldwide, Global Medical Logistics, LGC Wireless, Transmedia, and Transmeta, among others. Crimson has offices in Silicon Valley, Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Taipei. Contact Crimson at their Silicon Valley office at 2700 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, CA, 94025, Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone], or EMAIL: [e-mail].