FBR CoMotion Venture Capital Participates in Series C Funding of RuleSpace

Business Wire, August 21, 2000

Business Editors

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 2000

FBR CoMotion Venture Capital, a venture capital firm that provides early-stage investments and accelerator services for Pacific Northwest technology companies, announced today its participation in the $12 million, Series C funding of Portland-based RuleSpace Inc., the leader in instant Web content recognition.

FBR CoMotion joins lead investor Madrona Venture Group in the round. Additional investment was provided by America Online, Millenium Technology Ventures and existing investors from Portland and the Bay Area.

RuleSpace's $8 million Series B round, led by FBR CoMotion, closed in April 1999.

"We are very excited about the progress the company has made in the last four months," said William Neuhauser, managing partner of FBR CoMotion. "Rulespace has assembled all the pieces to bring automatic content recognition to the web and establish dominance in this critical emerging area."

This latest round of funding will further fuel RuleSpace's staffing, development activities and capital investment as the company delivers and advances its Contexion Services and technology offerings. RuleSpace's workforce has nearly doubled to almost 100 staff over the last three months, and the company has moved into larger office space.

"The attention and interest of such leading and successful investors is a great endorsement of the importance of Contexion Services and how it will benefit the entire Web community," stated Charlie Kawasaki, president and CEO of RuleSpace. "This investment accelerates our efforts to categorize the entire Web and provide the Internet much needed automated categorization services."

"RuleSpace's innovative technologies enable us to offer consumers a novel approach to delivering more relevant search results and the opportunity to improve our members' online experience," said Ron Peele, Vice President, AOL Investments.

About RuleSpace Inc.

RuleSpace Inc. is a privately held corporation located in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1996, RuleSpace provides automated Web content recognition technology and services that instantly recognize Web content and facilitate the delivery of relevant Web information. Solutions powered by RuleSpace technology enable Network Access Vendors, Online Marketers and Portals to deliver more meaningful and appropriate information to users as they surf the Web. Unlike human review using keyword technologies, RuleSpace technology keeps pace with the explosion of Web content. More information on RuleSpace is available at www.rulespace.com.

About FBR CoMotion Venture Capital

With offices in Portland and Seattle, FBR CoMotion Venture Capital provides early-stage investments and accelerator services for Northwest technology companies. FBR CoMotion is led by managing partners David Billstrom and Will Neuhauser. The firm focuses on Internet infrastructure companies and Internet-based start-ups in the business-to-business sector, wireless and e-commerce marketplace. Recent portfolio companies include Chrome Data Corp., ImproveMyBusiness.com, MeasureCast.com, and MyHealthBank. More company information is available at www.CoMotionVC.com.