Crosspoint Outlines Roadmap for Innovation, Growth; Top Silicon Valley Venture Capital Firm to Discuss Performance and Investment Strategy at Annual Limited Partner Meeting.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 3, 2001

Crosspoint Venture Partners, technology's best-performing early-stage venture capital firm, will meet with its limited partners today at the Garden Court Hotel in Palo Alto to showcase its current investments and outlook for the coming year. With over $2 billion of assets invested in 66 portfolio companies, Crosspoint will present its progress to its limited partners comprised of charitable foundations, university endowments and institutional investors.

Crosspoint has historically delivered some of the industry's strongest returns to its investors and was recently ranked number one by Forbes in overall distributed returns to its limited partners in 2000 -- making Crosspoint the industry's top performer four years in a row. In a survey of 20 venture capital firms, Crosspoint topped the list by returning $29.60 for every $1 invested in 1996, with 88% of the fund distributed. Forbes attributed Crosspoint's success to the firm's decision to forego dot-com investments in favor of more sustainable segments such as network infrastructure, storage, broadband and e-business. Crosspoint's success is attributable in part to its unique investment strategy of architecting new industry segments and building leadership companies within them, including such sectors as digital synchronous line (DSL) networking, B2B e-commerce software and infrastructure, broadband communications, and Fibre Channel storage area networking.

Crosspoint is extending its past successes with companies like Brocade, Ariba and Foundry Networks to investments in storage, collaborative commerce networks and vertical service providers (VSP). In December 2000, Crosspoint announced a $350 million commitment that introduced the VSP industry, a next-generation business model built to leverage the wide-spread and inexpensive use of broadband and the Internet paradigm.

In recognition of their strong investing acumen, Crosspoint's partners were recently honored as some of the industry's most influential tech investors on the prestigious Forbes Midas List. Crosspoint managing partner, Seth Neiman, was recognized by Forbes magazine as the second most influential tech investor, with John Mumford, founding partner, ranked at 25. Rich Shapero, managing partner, was ranked at 97 and was also recently named one of six "Guru's of Growth" by Businessweek.

"We have enjoyed a great deal of success over the past year and look forward to talking with our limited partners about our outlook for the future," said Rich Shapero, Crosspoint managing partner. "We have always focused on identifying emerging sectors in which valuable and sustainable technology businesses are formed. This strategy has served our limited partners well, and with their support we plan to continue building cornerstone technology companies that define new levels of innovation and deliver superior returns."

About Crosspoint Venture Partners

Crosspoint Venture Partners, (www.cpvp.com), a leading early-stage venture capital firm, leverages its base of $2 billion to provide the financial means and strategic guidance that enables development and growth of important new enterprises. The firm focuses on two emerging market segments: B2B, including Vertical Service Providers, Enablers and Exchanges as well as the Communications Infrastructure segment. Crosspoint's portfolio has achieved record returns with landmark investments in Ariba,Inc., Avanex Corporation, Brocade Communications Systems, Covad Communications, Digital Island, Inc., Efficient Networks,Inc., Foundry Networks,Inc., and Juniper Networks,Inc. Formed in 1970, the company has offices in both Woodside and Irvine,Calif.; and can be reached at 650/851-7600 or [e-mail].