Three Kauffman Fellows Join 3i Team; International VC Firm Continues to Grow Momentum.

MENLO PARK, Calif. & BOSTON -- Sixth graph, first sentence should read: Serving her Fellowship under mentor Marko Maschek at 3i in Boston, MA, Jiong's 14 years of business and technical experience in high-speed networking equipment include her role as senior manager for Lucent Technologies, and as founding member of Onetta, where she defined and launched Onetta's ION product (sted Serving her Fellowship under mentor Marco Maschek...).

The fourth bullet under the subhead "Recent successes include:" should read:Value-added investing -- 3i sits on the Board of 60% of its portfolio companies, guiding development throughout the life cycle of the company (sted Value-added investing -- 3i sits on the Board of 80% of its portfolio companies, guiding development throughout the life cycle of the company).

The corrected release reads:

THREE KAUFFMAN FELLOWS JOIN 3I TEAM; INTERNATIONAL VC FIRM CONTINUES TO GROW MOMENTUM

3i, a leading international venture capital firm, announces that two Kauffman Fellows, Paul Badawi and Jiong Ma, have joined their US team. Erich Schlick, director and head of the healthcare sector for 3i in Germany, also participates in the Kauffman Fellows Program, and will serve as the first full time international Fellow (based in Europe) in the history of the program.

The Fellowship is dedicated to enhancing the human investment in the venture capital process globally. The program is a two-year Fellowship involving a combination of formal training as well on-the-job learning.

"The addition of these Fellows to our team exemplifies 3i's ability to continually respond to the needs of the venture capital market," said Allan Ferguson, Managing Director with 3i, who will be a mentor to the US Kauffman Fellows. "As a truly global venture firm we are constantly looking for ways to ensure a high quality source of venture capitalists for the industry. We are pleased that Kauffman has considered a Fellow from outside of the United States for the first time."

The Kauffman Fellows Program is a highly coveted program designed to educate, develop and network emerging leaders in venture capital and high growth start-ups. The three Fellows are from the 9th Class of Kauffman Fellows -- the largest class in the program's 10 year history. According to Trish Costello, CEO of the Center for Venture Education, "Fellows Class 9 reflects the changing landscape in VC and the growing importance of a formal VC education program. The nature of the venture capital industry evolves over time, and our newest class represents the growing need for venture professionals with deep domain expertise, successful operating experience, and an accelerated learning process combined with the increasing global focus of the industry."

Paul Badawi

Currently serving his Fellowship under mentor Allan Ferguson at 3i in Boston, MA, Paul was previously the Vice President of Strategy for Medrium, a healthcare software and services start-up. Paul also worked as an Associate in the West Coast offices of two healthcare-dedicated investment funds, CW Group and Diaz and Altschul Group, and was a Research Fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He received his BS in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA, both with highest honors.

Jiong Ma

Serving her Fellowship under mentor Marko Maschek at 3i in Boston, MA, Jiong's 14 years of business and technical experience in high-speed networking equipment include her role as senior manager for Lucent Technologies, and as founding member of Onetta, where she defined and launched Onetta's ION product. Jiong also worked as a member of the technical staff for Nortel Networks. She holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, an MS in Electrical Engineering from the Worcestor Polytechnic Institute in MA, and a BS in Physics/Electrical Engineering from Lanzhou University, China. Jiong is a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese.

Erich Schlick

Currently serving his Fellowship under mentor Jo Taylor with 3i Europe, Erich joined 3i in 2001 and has been the Head of 3i healthcare team in Germany since 2002. He is responsible for the German group wide portfolio development and strategic positioning of the sector, providing active management of portfolio companies including board membership in Paion (stroke treatment) and Immatics (cancer treatment). Erich brings 25 years experience in healthcare industry, including 5 years at the US National Cancer Institute and over 15 years in senior management of BASF Pharma. He has achieved worldwide registration for key drugs in various indications. Erich holds an MDPhD in medicine and professor of pharmacology from the university of Heidelberg.

"The program allows Fellows to not only learn first hand how to evaluate and execute deals and grow portfolio companies but to also network and develop great relationships with some of the brightest entrepreneurs, thought leaders and VCs in the industry. We wanted to join 3i because of the firm's seasoned mentors, healthy appetite for investment across different industries and different growth stages," commented Paul Badawi and Jiong Ma, who will be working at 3i US over the next two years.

"The Program provides an excellent opportunity for the Fellow to gain invaluable insights into the world of hands-on venture capital," commented Martin Gagen, CEO and President of 3i US and Asia Pacific. "As one of the few international VC firms with a strong US presence, we attribute our success to the quality of our people and network."

Recent successes include:

--A US portfolio of over 65 companies -- incorporating of a healthy balance of early and late stage investments.

--Significant investment traction in the Healthcare space -- including Transmedics, NeoGuide, Amphora, and Swissray.

--Sale of PlaceWare -- a leading provider of Web conferencing systems, which was acquired by Microsoft Corporation for $200 million, making it one of the largest technology acquisitions in the first half of 2003. 3i partnered with PlaceWare to win new channel partners and customers in Europe and North America, expanding PlaceWare's customer base to more than 3,000 organizations.

--Value-added investing -- 3i sits on the Board of 60% of its portfolio companies, guiding development throughout the life cycle of the company.

About 3i

3i is a leading international venture capital company with U.S. offices in Menlo Park, CA and Waltham, MA. Operating since 1945, 3i has invested worldwide over $26 billion, including co-investment funds, with a total staff of 800 employees operating out of over 30 offices in 14 countries. 3i leverages this worldwide presence to add value to its portfolio companies and investment partners. In the United States, 3i concentrates on early and late stage technology investments in companies with the potential to be leaders in their markets. Outside the USA, 3i invests broadly in buyouts, growth capital and venture capital.

Since opening its US businesses in 1999, 3i has become one of the most active early and late stage VCs in the US. Recent investments in early stage companies include Neoguide Systems, DAFCA, SiGe Semiconductors, Cometa Networks, Bitfone, Knowmadic, Sonim and OmniGuide. 3i has been equally active on the late stage, with recent investments in Vonage, Speakeasy, Swissray, Skystream Networks, Merchant e-Solutions, Placeware, AppShop, Top Layer and SCP Global Technologies. Visit 3i and its portfolio at www.3ius.com.

About Kauffman

Founded in 1994, the Kauffman Fellows Program is an educational program designed to educate, develop and network emerging leaders in venture capital and high-growth start-ups. In July 2002, the Program spun out from the Kauffman Foundation and came under the aegis of the newly formed Center for Venture Education, a non-profit, post-graduate educational institute. It has expanded its programs nationally and internationally to fulfil its mission of enhancing the human investment in the venture capital process globally.