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Pentech Ventures invests in Automsoft

18 April 2002

Pentech Ventures, the early stage technology venture capital fund managed by Penta Capital, today announced its investment in Automsoft International, the leading global provider of advanced database solutions to process industries. Automsoft has raised €6m in a 2nd round of private equity funding which was led by IDG Ventures Europe with Pentech Ventures and included previous investors Cross Atlantic Partners, Crucible and Barisal.

Founded in 1994, Automsoft is headquartered in Dublin and is a global provider of advanced database software to process industries. Automsoft’s RAPID software gives complete visibility into manufacturing processes and is designed to transform data into useful information that can be used throughout the enterprise. Automsoft’s primary market focus is currently global pharmaceuticals including biotech. RAPID is also installed in Oil and Gas, Food and Beverage and Utilities sectors where it delivers key business benefits such as increased productivity, reduced cost of production and compliance with regulatory bodies such as the FDA.

As well as making a significant investment in this funding round, Pentech Ventures will provide hands on expertise to develop the company. Pentech director David Armour commented;

"Automsoft met our main investment criteria with strong intellectual property focused on providing clear customer benefit, and a large potential worldwide market for the product. Through the experience of the Pentech team and our Advisory Group of seasoned technology entrepreneurs both here and in the US, we believe that we can assist an already strong management team, to help build a truly world class technology business."

Commenting on the investment Paraic O’Toole, CEO of Automsoft said:

"This round of investment enables Automsoft to build on its growth to date by consolidating our position in markets in which we are currently a leader, as well as enabling further vertical expansion. We are currently installed in five of the global top 20 pharmaceutical companies and we are expanding into food, oil and gas, utilities and chemical sectors. Through this investment we will have access to both IDG’s and Pentech’s networks and expertise which will help in the building of a strong sales pipeline."

Kit Gould, Managing Partner of IDG Ventures Europe who will be joining the Automsoft board said:

‘’IDG Ventures was impressed with Automsoft’s comprehensive offer, its well established customer base and experienced senior management team. Automsoft offers process manufacturing companies an immediate benefit by enhancing their ability to collect and analyse mountains of production data in real time. We see this sector as a high growth area as it creates a critical lynchpin between enterprise wide applications and the manufacturing systems of the company, bringing management visibility deeper into the organisation.’’

Pentech will be represented on the board by Robert Thompson, Founder and Past President of Hyperion Solutions (NASDAQ: HYPL). Hyperion is the world leader in financial and business performance management solutions.