TOSHIBA IS LEAD INVESTOR IN $4 MILLION ROUND IN NUVISIO CORPORATION TOSHIBA'S FIRST INVESTSMENT IN AN ISRAELI INTERNET START-UP
 

Triangle Technologies (Ramat-Gan) announced today that Toshiba Corporation (Japan) concluded its first investment in any Israeli-related Internet start up. Toshiba was lead investor in a $4 million investment round in Nuvisio Corporation on a $26 million pre-money valuation. The investment was made through Toshiba's newly created iValue Creation Company which was established to spearhead Toshiba's new Internet, e-commerce and mobile internet strategy and headed by a corporate senior vice president, Dr. Susumu Kohyama. The investment was structured and negotiated by Triangle Technologies which is exclusively advising Toshiba's iValue Creation(iVC) on its Internet related investments in Israel which are expected to reach $30 million within a few years. NuVisio Corporation, a US company with an R&D subsidiary in Herzilya, was established in January 2000 by Dani Birnbaum, Shai Gerably, and Alon Geva,with a seed investment by JVP. JVP also participated in the $4 million round, which was led by Toshiba.
 
Nuvisio provides a unique approach to Internet couponing that offers both a secure delivery method as well as mass-distribution. This patent-pending vehicle enables Consumer Package-Goods companies to safely offer manufacturer couponing over the web, a significant off-line industry of $6 billion in 1999. Until now, this industry was unable to go "on-line" because coupon offers have been exposed to unlimited fraud. Therefore, the packaged goods and grocery retail communities have largely rejected paper Internet coupons. Nuvisio's solution to the fraud issue is gaining significant endorsement in the industry and upon launch will enable these package-goods companies to take their direct-to-consumer promotions on-line. Furthermore, because of the targeting and tracking capabilities , Nuvisio's coupons will offer not only trial programs but also threshold marketing activities that promote brand loyalty.. With its fraud-free technology and mass distribution infrastructure, Nuvisio will be the first mass-market Consumer Package-Goods couponing vehicle on the Internet.
 
"While our launch will initially focus on the US market, we recognize the global potential of our solution and are already planting the seeds for our expansion. We consider Japan to be an important market for Nuvisio's international strategy, and it will be one of the first markets we penetrate following our US launch," stated Dani Birnbaum, Nuvisio's CEO. "The investment by Toshiba and the relationship built with Triangle, gives us excellent access to the Japanese market through a major player in the mobile Internet industry in Japan. We also expect the alliance with Toshiba to be helpful to Nuvisio in other non-Japanese markets, specifically as we expand our product into other, non-grocery, categories such as consumer electronics." Dani Birnbaum served as CEO for Pillsbury Israel prior to joining the team which founded Nuvisio.
 
"Japan leads the world in mobile Internet and Toshiba is a major player in this industry," commented Yoshinori Oikawa, executive manager at Triangle Technologies who is responsible for Toshiba iVC's activities in Israel. "iVC is looking for world leading Internet and mobile Internet technologies which they can adapt to the Japanese market and Nuvisio's couponing application is ideal for this."
 
"Our investment in Nuvisio is iVC's first investment in an Israeli company," says Dr. Katsuhiko Yamashita, Vice President and chief strategist office of iVC. "I have been quite impressed by the vast array of top technologies in the area of mobile Internet being developed in Israel. There still many other opportunities for us in Israel. However, together with Triangle Technologies we wish to help the Israeli companies to pay more attention to the Japanese market which is leading the mobile internet space. We think close cooperation between us and Israeli companies we could come up with desired technologies and products which will lead the WW market. Toshiba sees Israeli related technology playing a central role in its world-wide Internet strategy, and expects to make additional investments soon, commented Dr. Yamashita, who has visited Israel 5 times in the past year.
   
 
About Triangle Technologies
Triangle Technologies forms technology oriented alliances between Israeli and Japanese companies. Triangle Technologies has three major areas of activity strategic alliance formation; private placement and venture creation. With more than 100 years cumulative experience in Japanese, Israeli, and international marketplaces, Triangle Technologies' executives work with Israel's technology leaders and Japan's leading manufacturers, Internet and e-commerce players, trading companies, venture capital funds, and other financial institutions. Triangle Technologies has signed over 60 Asian-Israeli deals, and has been instrumental in creating new ventures, most recently in the Internet and e-Commerce area. More information is available at http://www.triangletech.com.
   
 
About Nuvisio
Established in January 2000, Nuvisio seeks a leadership role in the Internet consumer products promotion and advertising space. Nuvisio's enabling technology utilizes the Internet as a media to distribute home-printed grocery coupons that will be used and accepted at every grocery store in America, much like the existing Sunday newspaper coupons. Nuvisio aims to redefine consumer promotions on the Internet, thereby enabling the biggest advertisers in the world to use the Internet media to build their brands. Nuvisio plans to roll-out globally once the model is proven in the U.S. Market. Nuvisio's First Round financing was provided by Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP); Second Round by Toshiba Corporation with JVP at a post-money valuation of $30 million. Nuvisio's leadership team is extremely strong with many years experience in the consumer promotions and advertising space and with programming talent from the Israeli Army Intelligence. Headquartered in New York, the company employs 30 people. R&D is located in Herselia, Israel, and sales offices in Cincinnati, Chicago and Atlanta.
   
 
About iVC, Toshiba Corporation
Value Creation Company was established in April 2000 as an in-house company of Toshiba Corporation to spearhead Toshiba's new Internet, e-commerce and mobile Internet strategy. The new company's strategy includes investing in other companies developing new technologies for Internet and mobile Internet applications in order to form strategic alliances with those companies.
   
 
 






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