Partech International Investment to Boost MEMGen Growth

Leads Series A1 financing

BURBANK, CA - July 15, 2002 - MEMGen Corporation has closed $5.7 million in Series A1 financing, which was led by Partech International, an international venture capital firm with offices in Paris and San Francisco. This latest round of funding also included all of MEMGen's original investors, DynaFund Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Chevron Technology Ventures LLC, Zone Ventures, Atherton Venture Partners, LLC, Venture Law Group and Riordan & McKinzie, as well as McDonnell 1998 Co-investing, a DynaFund limited partner.

"We invest in companies with innovative, revolutionary technologies, and MEMGen fits this criterion," said Dave Welsh, general partner at Partech International, who has joined MEMGen's Board of Directors. "The company's breakthrough micro-manufacturing technology, combined with its strong, experienced management team, will enable MEMGen to catalyze micro-device developments in a variety of industries."

In February 2001, MEMGen, an innovator in micro- and ultra-precision manufacturing technology, raised over $11 million in a first round of venture capital funding. In July 2001, Pentech Financial Services provided MEMGen with a $1.5 million equipment leasing line. This latest round is an 'up round' for the company, priced higher than the Series A round, due to MEMGen's significant progress over the last 17 months.

"As an early stage investor in the companies that pioneered automated gene sequencing and electronic design automation - companies whose enabling technologies gave rise to entire industries - I was very attracted to EFAB(tm), MEMGen's automated platform technology for micro-scale manufacturing," said Vincent R. Worms, managing partner at Partech International.

MEMGen's proprietary EFAB technology enables the manufacture of sophisticated, highly-miniaturized devices, including MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems). Compared with conventional micro-manufacturing approaches, EFAB enables true 3-D structures, faster turnaround and unmatched ease-of-use through highly-automated fabrication based on a standard 3-D CAD design.

"Although we weren't planning to raise additional funding at this time, Partech approached us and impressed us with its track record of turning vision into success in other emerging industries. Partech's trans-Atlantic presence and network will also be valuable assets as we expand globally," said Adam Cohen, MEMGen president and CEO, and inventor of EFAB. "And the fact that all of our original investors have provided additional funding in this latest round is a strong vote of confidence in MEMGen's unique offering."

For further information on MEMGen or its EFAB technology, please visit www.memgen.com.

About MEMGen 

Headquartered in Burbank, California, MEMGen Corporation's proprietary EFAB(tm) technology allows microdevices to be produced from a single, automated system. It enables 3-D CAD designs to be transformed into finished micro precision-parts and MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems). EFAB is the first manufacturing technology that can fabricate truly three-dimensional micromachines and micro-parts, from development to mass production, quickly and without a cleanroom. For more information on MEMGen, please visit www.memgen.com.

About Partech International 

Founded in 1982, Partech is an international venture capital firm with offices in San Francisco and Paris. The firm currently manages approximately $850 million in early stage venture, mid stage venture and public investments. Partech International's venture funds draw capital from a broad base of world-class institutional investors, including AT&T Investment Management/JP Morgan, IBM Pension, Lucent, Bell Atlantic Asset Management, GTE, Merrill Lynch, Liverpool Victoria (UK), Swiss Life (Switzerland) and AXA (France). Partech International differentiates itself in three important ways:

• International Approach: a strong track record of nearly 20 years of global investing, assisting portfolio companies with cross-border expansion and an international group of partners.
• Industry Focus: on enterprise software and services, communications solutions and healthcare information technologies.
• Lifecycle Financing: supporting companies with early stage, late stage and public equity investments.

Some of Partech International's investments include: Ascend, Applied BioSystems, Breezecom, Business Objects, Cadence, CSG Systems, Digital Island, Informatica and Vignette. 

For more information on Partech, please visit www.partechvc.com.

 

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