CMEA Ventures to Be Exclusive VC Sponsor of Entretech and Materia's GreenTech 2008 Conference

Business Wire, May 19, 2008

Experts to Address Worldwide Demand for New Energy Sources, Renewable Fuels, Products and Materials

GreenTech 2008 - June 6, Pasadena Hilton

PASADENA, Calif. -- Entretech (www.entretech.org), the leading non-profit association supporting the growth of technology companies in Greater Los Angeles, announced today that CMEA Ventures (www.cmeaventures.com) will be the exclusive VC sponsor of GreenTech 2008. Maurice E.P. Gunderson, Senior Partner of CMEA, will also offer his informed perspective as the Keynote Speaker at the conference.

"CMEA is pleased to be the exclusive VC sponsor of GreenTech as we believe the conference provides enormous investment and networking opportunities on the cutting edge of environmental issues and potential resolves, especially as consumers, investors, and governments realize the importance of their choices for the future of the environment," Gunderson commented. "Our partnership with Caltech, Materia and Entretech is a great way to harness the creative spirit of the Southern California technology community."

GreenTech showcases smart young companies from Caltech, UCLA, USC and elsewhere, "green" technologies and products transforming the marketplace within the next three to five years. Entretech co-hosts the conference with Materia (www.materia-inc.com), a green technology Caltech spin-off commercializing Nobel Prize-winning research.

"We are excited to have CMEA as our VC partner," said Michael A. Giardello, CEO of Materia and Chairman of GreenTech 2008. "It is an indication of the importance of 'green' technology and CMEA's leadership in investing in this space and in facilitating the commercialization of technology that will address the growing problems we are facing in natural resource allocation, global climate change, and sustainable economic growth."

GreenTech 2008's power program includes Elevance (www.elevance.com), a renewable chemicals company recently formed by Cargill and Materia which secured more than $40 million in finance, and Gevo, Inc., (www.gevo.com), a leading developer of the next generation of biofuels, including jet fuel.

"Los Angeles is attracting a growing share of green investment dollars," said Stephanie Yanchinski, Executive Director of Entretech. "We work closely with our three university partners: Caltech, UCLA, and USC - to help their "greentech" and other spin-outs establish a home here in Southern California and to contribute their discoveries, quality jobs, as well as new investment to the regional economy."

About CMEA Ventures (www.cmeaventures.com)

CMEA Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on energy & materials, high technology, and life sciences investments. CMEA believes that the most successful venture backed companies are science focused and have experienced teams intent on winning. As a result, CMEA's portfolio companies typically have cutting edge, highly differentiated, and often multidisciplinary technology at their core, with founding teams of the highest caliber.

CMEA invests in both early and late stage ventures, and has a strong network of corporate, investment, and entrepreneurial relationships that it leverages on behalf of its portfolio companies. The firm currently manages six funds representing investments in excess of $1 billion. CMEA has been an early stage investor in many leading Silicon Valley high technology companies, including Entropic (ENTR), Flextronics (FLEX), Magma (LAVA), Maxygen (MAXY), Monogram Biosciences (MGRM), Silicon Spice (BRCM), Symyx (SMMX), and Syrrx (purchased by Takeda.)

About Materia, Inc. (www.materia-inc.com)

Materia was founded in 1998 to commercialize olefin metathesis catalyst technology. This market-enabling, Nobel Prize-winning, green chemical technology enables chemical compounds to be synthesized with greater efficiency, under less stringent reaction conditions, and with reduced byproducts and hazardous waste. Metathesis has been accepted as an emerging "green technology" platform and has been broadly adopted by the pharmaceutical, chemical, and polymer industries. As stated by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences when awarding the 2005 Nobel Prize, "metathesis is an example of how important basic science has been applied for the benefit of man, society, and the environment."

About Entretech (www.entretech.org)

Entretech is the leading non-profit association supporting high tech companies in Greater Los Angeles with critical and practical business development resources and connections. Our mission is to grow the technology cluster in the L.A. region, and support such growth in Southern California as a whole. Entretech empowers entrepreneurs to build new businesses through capital, education, people, and strategic partners. Through a dedicated relationship with the California Institute of Technology, UCLA and USC, Entretech provides opportunities to new technology companies forming tomorrow's high tech industry.