Siemens Launches Startup for Peer-to-Peer Internet; WebV2 Offers Infrastructure Software for Next-Generation of Internet Applications

Business Wire, August 2, 2000

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BERKELEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 2000

Siemens Technology-To-Business (TTB) Center today announced a new spin-off, WebV2, an infrastructure software provider for peer-to-peer networking (P2P).

WebV2 will enable the commercial use of peer-to-peer networking with a new technology platform for complex interactions and negotiations. "This next-generation P2P approach goes well beyond simple file searching and sharing that ventures like Napster and Gnutella focus on. Think B2B collaboration between peers in the supply chain, or direct knowledge exchange within enterprises," said Steve Stephansen, WebV2 CEO.

So far, content and commerce on the World Wide Web have revolved around the established web server-centric model, WebV1. The next generation Internet will have applications, appliances, and PCs interacting and accomplishing work directly with one another, bypassing central servers.

In recent months, WebV2 has completed a robust architecture needed to cope with the inherent complexity of commercially viable peer-to-peer solutions. Its innovative platform is based on networked intelligent agents, drawing from the team's experience in years of applied research and development within Siemens projects. The startup has acquired the significant underlying technology from Siemens. Co-founder Donald Steiner is also the president of the Foundation for Intelligent Physical Agents (FIPA), the international standards setting body for agent technologies.

"WebV2 will unleash the peer-to-peer power of the Internet. Siemens wants this exciting startup to be a stellar success, driving the P2P revolution," says Arding Hsu, president of the Siemens Technology-To-Business Center where the company's founders created the foundation for the new venture.

WebV2 has just formed a high-caliber management team to take its leading-edge P2P technology and expertise to the market: Steve Stephansen, CEO and President; Dr. Donald Steiner, Co-Founder and Vice President, Product Development; Michael Kolb, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer; and Arno Hesse, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development.

The startup will announce its first commercial peer-to-peer applications shortly, addressing distributed interactions in B2B and the extended enterprise. The management is currently talking to investors to close Series A financing.

For more information, please visit www.webv2.com.

About Siemens TTB

Located in Berkeley, Calif., Siemens Technology-To-Business (TTB) Center (www.ttb.siemens.com) converts innovative technologies into viable new Siemens businesses or start-up companies. TTB's vision is to combine the strengths of Siemens, a global electronics and electrical engineering powerhouse, with the speed and flexibility of small companies. Since its founding in March 1999, TTB has established a strong project portfolio through its dynamic working relationships with San Francisco Bay Area ventures and the University of California at Berkeley.

For fiscal 1999, Siemens had sales of $14.8 billion and employed approximately 64,000 people in the United States. For the same period, Siemens AG (Munich/Berlin; www.siemens.de) recorded worldwide sales of $75.0 billion and had a total of 443,000 employees in 190 countries.

About WebV2, Inc.

WebV2 is an infrastructure software provider for peer-to-peer networking, the next wave of Internet applications. Its innovative architecture is based on networked intelligent agents, capable to scale up for commercial use. WebV2 holds leading-edge agent technology and expertise. The team includes world-class authorities in networked agent software. The company's technology team draws from a decade's research in Siemens' R&D organization and cutting-edge international research projects. The company was founded in early 2000, and has been incubated and financed by Siemens Technology-To-Business Center in Berkeley, California.

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