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$26 MILLION INVESTMENT
ANNOUNCED BY ESCALATE
Company Formerly Code-Named
"Just Like TV Internet" Pioneers E-commerce Service
Provider Market
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. –
Oct. 19, 1999 – Escalate, Inc., the pioneer in the E-commerce
Service Provider (ESP) market, today announced a $26 million investment
led by Accel Partners and Norwest Venture Partners. As part of
the investment, Bruce Golden, partner of Accel Partners, and Promod
Haque, managing general partner of Norwest Venture Partners, have
joined Escalate's board of directors. Formerly known as Just Like
TV Internet, Inc., the company also unveiled its new name: Escalate,
Inc.
"Escalate has a compelling
business model for high-traffic web sites who are serious about
e-commerce," said Bruce Golden of Accel. "By leveraging Escalate's
technology and infrastructure, they gain access to world-class
e-commerce capabilities, similar to those of the biggest online
e-tailers today, without having to invest a chunk of their company's
net worth to get it. We believe Escalate will play a critical
role in e-commerce, a role as central as Visa plays in the payment
card and processing industry."
"Internet companies rely
upon service providers for infrastructure capabilities, such as
search and advertising. Escalate is an end-to-end provider of
superior e-commerce capabilities," said Promod Haque, managing
general partner, Norwest Venture Partners. "Escalate is destined
to take its place next to Inktomi and DoubleClick as the next
essential infrastructure service provider on the Internet."
Escalate is leading the
E-commerce Service Provider market by providing the industry's
first network-based service platform designed to deliver end-to-end
e-commerce capabilities for high-traffic web sites. The company's
innovative service delivery approach allows high-traffic web sites
to gain access to best-of-breed e-commerce services without heavy
investments in technology and infrastructure.
A robust contextual selling engine, a reliable transaction processor,
and a dedicated supplier network are at the core of Escalate's
e-commerce service. The contextual selling engine powers branded
stores, product targeting, merchandising, personalized customer
service, and network-based business intelligence. It is complemented
by supply chain management services, including order, fulfillment
and inventory management. A dedicated supplier network gives web
sites access to suppliers and third party service providers, in
areas including logistics and customer service, to streamline
procurement and fulfillment.
"This large round of funding is a strong show of confidence in
our business model, our aggressive market stance and our commitment
to move quickly to prove our value," said Keng Lim, CEO and president,
Escalate. "Our world-class investors bring strategic relationships
that will be instrumental in building Escalate into an Internet
market leader."
Industry veterans from Netscape founded Escalate in January 1999.
The team previously founded Kiva Software, which significantly
influenced e-commerce today by creating the web application server
category. Acquired by Netscape in 1997, the company's primary
product, now known as the Netscape Application Server, powers
mission-critical, highly scalable commerce for such leading Internet
transaction sites as Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, E*Trade,
GTE, Lucent and Sony.
The Barksdale Group and Discovery Ventures also contributed to
the round. Other leading members of the retailing, e-commerce,
portal and venture communities participating in the investment
through Angel Investors, LP include: Patrick J. Connolly, executive
vice president, Williams-Sonoma; Ron Conway, General Partner,
Angel Investors, LP; Esther Dyson, member, Angel Investors LP;
Peter Godfrey, CEO, founder, Micro Warehouse; Ben Rosen, chairman,
Compaq Computer Corporation; Rodney Schrock, CEO, AltaVista; and
Stratton Sclavos, CEO, VeriSign.
About Escalate, Inc.
Escalate, Inc. is pioneering the E-commerce Service Provider (ESP)
market. Escalate offers the industry's first network-based service
platform designed to deliver end-to-end e-commerce capabilities
for high-traffic web sites. The service is supported by a powerful
contextual selling engine, a reliable transaction processor, and
a network of suppliers and third party service providers. Escalate's
seamless service delivery approach enables web sites to build
their brand and create a superior customer experience by leveraging
Escalate's technology and infrastructure.
Led by CEO Keng Lim, Escalate has attracted a world-class team
of management, development, operations and retail talent from
companies such as Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Informix, Kiva,
Oracle, Netscape, PeopleSoft and SUN Microsystems, online marketplaces
and portals such as AOL, HearMe, Chemdex and e-STEEL, and well-respected
retailers such as Williams-Sonoma and Gymboree. Escalate is located
in Redwood Shores, Calif. and is backed by Accel Partners, Norwest
Venture Partners, The Barksdale Group, Discovery Ventures and
Angel Investors, LP. For more information, visit http://www.escalate.com.
About the Investors
Accel Partners is a venture capital firm dedicated to helping
outstanding entrepreneurs build world-class companies. Accel focuses
its management of over $1.3 billion in two industries: Internet
and Communications. Accel's unique team, clear investment focus,
and commitment to being the very best partner to entrepreneurs
have been the foundation for the firm's exceptional history of
success in building defining companies. For more information,
visit the Accel Partners web site at http://www.accel.com.
Norwest Venture Partners, founded in 1961, is the premier
venture capital business partner for emerging growth IT companies.
The firm actively manages $850 million in investments, and has
raised more than $1 billion since inception. Norwest Venture Partners
has a broad information technology investment focus, including
software and the Internet, data communications, telecommunications,
semiconductors and subscriber-based services. The firm prides
itself on supporting companies beyond the call of duty with the
reputation, financial resources, seasoned business experience
and network of relationships required for success. The firm has
invested in such market leaders as PeopleSoft, OnDisplay, Kiva
Software, Vantive, Verio, Extreme Networks and Cerent Corporation.
Information on Norwest Venture Partners is available on the Internet
at http://www.norwestvp.com
or by calling 650-321-8000 (Palo Alto) or 781-237-5870 (Boston).
# # #
Escalate is a trademark
of Escalate, Inc. All other trademarks contained herein are trademarks
of their respective owners.
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