Acuid technology secures $8 million further investment

SCOTLAND 19th November 2002 - Acuid, a leading intellectual property and chip technology company has raised an additional $8 million of private equity funding, allowing the company to expand its activity from R&D to product promotion.

Acuid, which is on schedule to produce the first silicon version of its revolutionary Chip to Chip Connection Technology "CCT" later this year, secured the funding from existing investor HgCapital. With the continued support of the European private equity firm, the company will now execute its forward strategy to pursue the PC and games console markets, beginning by creating the sales and marketing infrastructure it needs as the product is evaluated by its preferred customers.

This latest investment is a further endorsement of the company which appointed Hans Rohrer, the former head of TSMC in Europe, as its CEO last May. Mr Rohrer believes that the company now has a clearly defined strategy underpinned by both solid management and a sound financial structure.

He says:

"The first priority was to determine the strategy going forward; with that in place it was important to secure the funds that would allow us to put those plans into action. In current markets this was going to be difficult, but we have a very supportive partner in HgCapital and a plan to manage our burn rate as we expand our activities. The new investment gives very positive backing to those plans.

"Fulfilling our potential is a big challenge, but as a young company we are in a very strong position. We know semiconductor companies have now reached the stage where their products are being hampered by outdated Chip to Chip Connection Technology. Acuid's technologies can fundamentally change that. The silicon version of our technology is on schedule for customer evaluation early next year and we now have the means to put a greater focus on our sales operation and accessing our key markets."

Acuid delivers its technology in form of pre-tested silicon proven mega cells. These mega cells get incorporated/embedded onto ASIC's/FPGA's, DRAM chips, microprocessors and graphic controllers enabling them to exchange data at exceptional speed and delivering bandwidth unachievable with any known or currently forecasted technology.

The technology is protected by eight "core patents" which have already been granted and by forty-four applied patents. Acuid's technology will be available through licensing agreements. These license agreements will cover a full range of services such as design support, documentation and system integration. The business model is based on up-front licensing fees and royalties from semiconductor companies using Acuid technology.

The licensing model is simple and in line with industry accepted practises.

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Notes to Editors:

About Acuid
Acuid Corporation develops and licenses breakthrough Chip Connection Technology "CCT" that enables semiconductor companies to unleash the performance of modern microprocessors and controllers. The differentiating factors of its technology are its high and scalable bandwidth. Acuid made some fundamental breakthroughs in 1998, which allow today's products to achieve data transfer speeds factors higher than before. The technology is easy to use, cost efficient and has a wide variety of applications across different market segments like computers, video game consoles, networking and consumer electronics. Acuid's initial focus is the PC, workstation and video games console market followed by networking and consumer application.

Founded in 1996 by Alex Deas, one of the Scotland's most successful inventors, the company secured $8m first round funding from HgCapital in May 2001. In May 2002, the company appointed Hans Rohrer, the former head of TSMC Europe, as its CEO, a considerable endorsement for the company and the potential of its technology. The company now employs over 70 engineers and has facilities in Scotland, St Petersburg in Russia, Canada and Singapore, with extensive representation in other countries. www.acuid.com

About HgCapital

HgCapital is a leading provider of finance to the European private equity market with offices in the UK and Germany. It has committed funds under management of €1.4 billion.

HgCapital's leveraged buy-outs team conducts management buy-outs and buy-ins of companies in western Europe with enterprise values in excess of €60 million. It focuses on the following industry sectors: Business Services, Consumer (including Leisure and Retail), and Industrials. HgCapital also has investment teams dedicated to three industry sectors where, in addition to conducting leveraged buy-outs, capital in excess of €15 million is provided to companies with potential for high growth. These sectors are Healthcare, Media, and Technology.

HgCapital services over 200 pension fund clients and manages Mercury Grosvenor Trust plc, a quoted vehicle that participates in all of HgCapital's investments.

HgCapital's communications are only directed at market counterparties and intermediate customers. HgCapital acts for its investors and for no one else in relation to its business. It will not advise or be responsible for providing customer protections to any other person. HgCapital is the trading name of Hg Investment Managers Limited and Hg Pooled Management Limited. Registered office: Third Floor, 3-5 Minerva House, Montague Close, London SE1 9BB.

HgCapital's recent investments within the information & communications technology sector include: Trados - leading language translation software; Burns e-Commerce Solutions - B2B internet products and services and Comnitel Technologies -telecommunications network and service management software. In 1999 HgCapital supported the buy-out of Checkpoint Holdings, an e-payments solutions company, which was sold in 2001 to Bottomline Technologies.

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