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Vancouver, BC, March 12, 2002 -- Antarctica Systems Inc. (ASI), a pioneer developer of information visualization software, today announced the closing of the company's second round of venture financing. Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is the lead investor. The company also attracted investment from Bosa Ventures Inc., together with existing ASI investors Working Opportunity Fund and Primaxis Technology Ventures. Financial advisory services were provided by VisionQuest Corp. of Miami, Florida.
"Visual user interfaces long ago won the battle for the desktop," said Tim Bray, founder of ASI. "It won't be long before visual interfaces are the norm on intranets, directories, and the Internet itself. This financing round puts Antarctica in a winning position in this visual revolution."
"Data Visualization is one of the fastest growing segments of Knowledge Management," said Andrew Lugsdin of BDC. "We are excited by the opportunity to join the Antarctica team; with the solid track record of leadership and innovation of their management team, we believe Antarctica can lead this market."
The additional funding will allow ASI to build out its sales team, both direct and through channels, as well as fund ongoing development of new products and enhancements. Antarctica's current client list includes Intel, Belmont Abbey College, Macdonald and Associates, and IBM.
About Antarctica Systems Inc.
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Antarctica is a pioneer developer of data visualization technology. The flagship product, Visual Net (VN) is a highly customizable information visualization tool based on visual mapping techniques that enables users to navigate and browse information easily across multiple databases and in multiple formats. VN is widely applicable to areas such as research libraries, corporate Intranets, and Ecommerce and cataloging. Antarctica Systems was founded in 1999 by early search engine pioneer and XML co-creator Tim Bray. Privately held, Antarctica's investment partners include BDC, Bosa Ventures Inc., Working Opportunity Fund, Primaxis Technology Ventures Inc, and Royal Bank Capital Partners. For additional information, please visit antarctica.net or call 866-NET-MAPS.
About BDC Venture Capital
BDC Venture Capital is a major venture capital investor in Canada, active at every stage of the company's development cycle from seed through to Initial Public Offering, with a focus on technology based businesses that have high growth potential and that are positioned to become dominant players in their markets. BDC Venture Capital has been involved in venture capital since 1975 and has to date invested in more than 400 different companies. It currently manages more than $350 million in venture capital assets and over 80% of its portfolio is invested in the areas of biotechnology, medical and health related technology, telecommunications, information technology and electronics.
Antarctica and Visual Net are trademarks or registered trademarks of Antarctica Systems Inc. in Canada and foreign countries. All other referenced trademarks belong to their respective owners.
Media Contacts:
Claude Miron
Vice President, BDC
(514) 283-4193
claude.miron@bdc.ca
Andrew Lugsdin
Director, BDC Venture Capital
(604) 666-7850
andrew.lugsdin@bdc.ca
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