RealNames Closes $46.5 Million Round of Funding to Support Continued Growth of Global Internet Keyword System; Company Restructures to Support New Registry/Registrar Business Model.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2000

RealNames Corporation, the company behind a better naming service for Web addresses, today announced its fourth round of venture funding totaling $46.5 million. The company also announced it is restructuring into four business units to support a new open, registry-based distribution model for Internet Keywords it announced at ICANN's meeting last month.

Seven new strategic and financial investors participated in the latest round, including Strong Capital Management, Munder Capital Management, Digital Island, DWS Investments, Emigrant Capital, Peak Capital Holdings and Dentsu.com. The investment by these seven firms accounted for over two-thirds of the total round. In addition, all of the major participants from the previous rounds of financing participated, including VeriSign who had previously acquired more than a 10 percent stake in RealNames as a result of the acquisition of Network Solutions.

"This new level of funding -- at an increased valuation over our last round, and in a particularly tough market -- demonstrates investors' belief that RealNames is building and deploying the new modern layer for the Internet naming infrastructure," said Keith Teare, CEO of RealNames. "We are particularly excited by the participation of strong strategic and international partners. The investments from strategic partners such as VeriSign and Digital Island demonstrate the support of the platform from those looking to contribute to its growth and development; and the investments from international players such as Dentsu.com and DWS Investments demonstrate the global appeal and potential for RealNames."

The Internet Keyword System is becoming the powerful navigation standard for the Internet because it is platform agnostic, global, open, extensible, scaleable and based on intuitive common names rather than complicated Web addresses. Regardless of the domain name or extension, Internet Keywords reduce consumer frustration with finding sites, and allow companies to protect their brands worldwide. Internet Keywords have generated much discussion the past several weeks, first at Bob Metcalfe's Agenda Conference and then the ICANN meeting, where many of the key players in the industry recognized and voiced the critical need for a modernized naming system that would reside as a layer on top of DNS, extending it to better meet future requirements of the Internet.

It was at the recent ICANN meeting that RealNames announced an open worldwide system of Registries and Registrars that will distribute and sell Keywords. To support the new distribution model, RealNames has restructured into four business units.

The Global Registry Services division will report to Keith Teare and be responsible for licensing country Registries around the world. The RealNames Registries division will report to Chris Dobbrow and be responsible for appointing Registrars who will sell Keywords to customers in countries where RealNames is the country Registry, namely the US, UK, Germany and Japan. David Orren will head up the RealNames Registrars division, which will be responsible for selling Keywords directly to customers in the US, UK, Germany and Japan. Dobbrow will also be responsible for Global Application Sales and the company's technology and service offerings for the wireless, Internet and enterprise markets. The division heads will report to the corporate leaders at RealNames, which include Mary Burnside, COO and president, and Nico Popp, CTO, in addition to CEO Teare. (For more information on RealNames' global registry, see the press release issued Nov. 15, 2000 entitled RealNames Announces Move To Open Registry For its Keyword System.)

Continued Teare, "The momentum of the past few weeks has been incredible, and points to that fact that Internet Keywords are a part of the natural evolution of the Internet -- first there were IP addresses, then domain names, then URLs, and now Internet Keywords. The investors in this round, several of which typically invest in public companies, are a testament to this vision and to the importance RealNames plays in building the foundation of the future Internet. As a result of our restructuring, we can now ensure proper support for both our own and the world's Keyword Registries and Registrars."

About Internet Keywords

When entered into the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser address line or used within a partner search engine, Internet Keywords take users directly and intuitively to the information they want online from any device and in their own language. Soon, through a partnership with Openwave Systems (formerly Phone.com), the same will be true for wireless browsing. Companies use Internet Keywords to enhance their brand identities and make it easier for customers to find them online. The RealNames Internet Keywords system runs on a scaleable, powerful technology platform composed of routers, databases, and management tools that support the measurement of a brand's value, and allow portals, search engines and communication service providers to create and deliver new Internet products and businesses. Internet Keywords simplify and improve the Internet experience, while delivering a navigation system that matches the Web's global promise.

About RealNames Corporation

RealNames Corporation, a market leader in Internet Keyword navigation, develops and markets products and services that simplify Web navigation and enable media convergence. Major brands can use RealNames products and services to help improve their return on total advertising spending by unifying their identity online and offline. Internet Keywords have been integrated into Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, and are used by leading search and portal sites such as MSN, AltaVista, Inktomi, Google, Go2Net, and the GO Network as part of their infrastructure to improve directory look-up and search results. Founded in 1996, RealNames is based in Redwood City, with offices in New York City, London, Hamburg, Tokyo and Seoul. For more information, please use Internet Keyword: RealNames to visit our Web site.

To access the RealNames press center go to: Internet Keyword: RealNames Press Room

Note to Editors: RealNames, RealNames System, RealNames Service, Real Name Service and RNS are either service marks or registered service marks of RealNames Corporation.