SOFTBANK Venture Capital has a New Name...with One Twist; Introducing Mobius Venture Capital.

Business/Technology Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2001

SOFTBANK Venture Forum V--SOFTBANK Venture Capital (SBVC), a leading technology venture capital firm, today announced at its annual meeting it is changing its name to Mobius Venture Capital, a new name reflecting the independent status it has maintained since 1996. The decision to rename the firm will not affect the management, the size of the funds under management, the existing portfolio nor the scope of its U.S.-based operations or staff. Notable companies in its current portfolio include Comergent, Danger Research, Dantz Development, FinaPlex, Invesmart, Support.com, Terabeam, The Feld Group and United Devices.

"In 1996, Masayoshi Son, Ron Fisher and I formed SBVC to focus on technology investments in the U.S. We have had a tremendous track record with early-stage investments in technology leaders like Art Technology Group, Concentric Networks (now XO Communications), E*Trade, GeoCities (now Yahoo!), Net2Phone, USWeb and VeriSign," stated Gary Rieschel, executive managing director of Mobius Venture Capital, formerly SBVC. "Since our firm's inception, we have legally operated as an independent, U.S.-based private equity corporation, with SOFTBANK CORP. serving as our largest limited partner. As we continue to evolve our operations, we thought it was time to choose a name that would better reflect our long-standing, independent status."

When the firm began developing a new name, it hired Momentum, a small, talented naming and corporate identity agency. Added Rieschel, "We knew we were giving up a name that had a strong global brand, but we wanted a new name that was defined by innovation and reflected our entrepreneurial spirit and our independent status. Like us, Mobius himself was multidisciplinary -- astronomer, mathematician and physicist. Metaphorically, the Mobius strip is a wonderful visual -- by adding invention to a finite object, you create something connected and infinite. Our entire team was immediately drawn to the name."

In addition to SOFTBANK CORP., Mobius Venture Capital is supported by an impressive group of limited partners including Brinson Partners, State of Michigan, WestAM, University of North Carolina, Hewlett-Packard, GE Capital, General Motors, State of Washington, and The Equitable.

About Mobius Venture Capital

With offices in Mountain View, California and Superior, Colorado, Mobius Venture Capital, formerly SOFTBANK Venture Capital, is a $2.5 billion U.S.-based private equity venture capital firm managed by an unparalleled team of former CEOs and entrepreneurs, technology pioneers, senior executives from major technology corporations, and leaders from the investment banking community. Mobius Venture Capital specializes primarily in early-stage investments in the areas of: communications systems software and services; infrastructure software and services; professional services; enterprise applications; healthcare informatics; consumer and small business applications; components; and emerging technologies. Mobius Venture Capital combines its technology expertise and broad financial assets with the industry's best entrepreneurs to create a powerhouse portfolio of over 100 of the world's leading high technology companies. For more information on the fund's investment team, technology vision and portfolio companies, please visit www.mobiusvc.com.