Slater Technology Fund Commits $3.1 Million to 11 Rhode Island-based Technology Startups in Fiscal 2008

Private Investors Join Slater to Provide Additional $2.3 Million in Parallel Funding

Providence, R.I., September 10, 2008 — The Slater Technology Fund announced today that it completed or approved a total of $3.1 million in funding commitments to 11 R.I.-based technology ventures during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2008. Of this amount, $1.75 million in financing transactions was completed during the fiscal year, and $1.35 million has been completed subsequent to the close of the fiscal year.

Four of the 11 investments were initial investments for Slater. The remaining seven were follow-on investments in ventures that had received previous Slater funding. Five of the seven follow-on investments were made in parallel with co-investors. In those transactions, Slater invested a combined $1.1 million while co-investors contributed $2.3 million, evidencing significant leverage of Slater’s investment in transactions involving parallel funding.

Slater also recovered in excess of $780,000 from portfolio companies during the fiscal year, making it the third year in a row in which capital recovery has contributed significantly to the Fund’s annual budget. It was also the third year in a row that Slater’s investment commitments to R.I.-based ventures exceeded its legislative appropriation from the State of Rhode Island. This latter result has been made possible by ongoing reductions in the organization’s overhead spending as well as the Fund’s ability to tap a growing reserve of capital recovery funds.

Companies that received initial funding commitments from Slater during fiscal 2008 included (funding commitments in parentheses):

• P&H Therapeutics, Inc. ($500,000) — a drug discovery company co-founded by former Pfizer researchers developing next-generation small-molecule compounds for the treatment of hypertension and dyslipidemia.

• WaveSyndicate ($350,000) — a Providence-based start-up that enables content creators/owners, publishers and advertisers to understand and optimize the value of media as it is consumed by a fragmented online audience.

• ProThera Biologics, Inc. ($250,000) — a biomedical startup launched out of Lifespan research labs that is developing biologics known as natural serine protease inhibitors for the treatment of multiple life-threatening conditions, including sepsis, cancer and anthrax intoxication.

• Mofuse, Inc. ($100,000) — a Providence-based startup that helps bloggers and website owners launch and manage mobile versions of their sites.

Companies that received follow-on funding commitments from Slater during fiscal 2008 included (funding commitments in parentheses):

• Andera, Inc. ($350,000) — a Providence-based financial technology company that offers a suite of integrated products and services for automated online account opening, funding, and cross-selling.

• Creative Circle Advertising Solutions, Inc. ($250,000) — a Providence-based provider of hosted solutions for media companies, focused on user-generated content and self-service advertising.

• Cardiorobotics, Inc. (formerly Innovention Technologies, LLC) ($250,000) — a Middletown-based company developing advanced robotic technologies that enable minimally invasive surgical procedures.

• Genome Corp. ($250,000) — a Providence-based developer of next-generation DNA sequencing technology designed for implementation in large-scale ‘sequencing factories.’

• Public Display, Inc. ($250,000) — a Providence-based web application firm developing information-extraction software for consumers, web publishers and advertisers.

• Location, Inc. ($150,000) — a Woonsocket-based publisher of the neighborhood search engine neighborhoodscout.com.

• Tizra, Inc. ($150,000) –a Providence-based developer of an innovative web publishing platform that helps businesses flexibly package and sell information online.

“Our focus in recent years on improving the cost-effectiveness of the Fund and refining our investment strategy has begun to pay significant dividends,” said Richard G. Horan, senior managing director of the Slater Technology Fund. “The emphasis on higher quality investments has enabled us to attract significant co-investment, thus leveraging Slater’s public sector funding with meaningful private sector support. Together, these efforts hold considerable promise for making a significant contribution to the development of the innovation economy here in Rhode Island. We are quite optimistic about the prospects for the coming year.”

About Slater Technology Fund
The Slater Technology Fund is a state-backed venture capital fund that invests in new ventures committed to basing and building their businesses in Rhode Island. Slater focuses its resources on the support of entrepreneurs who have the vision, leadership and commitment to build substantial commercial enterprises. Slater typically invests at the inception stage in the development of a new venture, often based upon ideas and technologies originating in academic institutions and/or government research laboratories located within the region. In most cases, investments are premised upon the possibility of raising substantial follow-on financing, from venture capital investors or from strategic partners, with a view toward accelerating the generation of significant numbers of high-value, high-wage jobs over the intermediate to longer-term.

For More Information:

Laura Nelson or Kaycee Roberts
SVM Public Relations
401-490-9700
laura.nelson@svmpr.com
kaycee.roberts@svmpr.com