| June 1, 2006
WOODSIDE FUND COMPANIES BERKELEY DESIGN
AUTOMATION AND MATISSE NETWORKS INCLUDED IN RED HERRING TOP 100
LIST
Woodside Fund’s Managing Director
John Occhipinti Participates in Red Herring’s ‘The Pursuit
of Disruption’ Spring 2006 Event
June 1 2006, Redwood Shores, CA: Woodside Fund,
an early-stage venture capital firm, today announced that two of
the firm’s portfolio companies, Berkeley Design Automation,
a provider of silicon analysis tools for analog/RF and mixed-signal
applications, and Matisse Networks, a provider of packet lambda-switching
for metro optical networks, were included in the Red Herring
Top 100 Private Companies List. The Red Herring award recognizes
the top 100 private companies in North America that help drive the
future of technology. All award winners had the opportunity to present
to an audience of over 300 CEOs, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs,
and senior executives at the Red Herring Spring 2006 event,
which took place on May 23rd through May 25th in Monterey, California.
“It was difficult to choose the 200 finalists and we are
very happy with the stellar quality of the companies on this short-list,”
said Joel Dreyfuss, Editor-in-Chief of Red Herring. “Our
Spring conference assembled a dynamic group of over 100 speakers
that the editorial staff felt were pushing and breaking the boundaries
of the business of technology.” The premise of the conference
was focused on how ‘disruptive technologies’ spawn unexpected
opportunities, novel alliances, and great success stories.
The Future of VoIP
Woodside Fund’s Managing Director, John Occhipinti, participated
in the Red Herring Spring 2006 event as a panelist on the
session titled ‘VoIP Security: The Poor Cousin With The Great
Potential’. Other individuals on the panel included Andy Zmolek,
Director of Security Planning & Strategy at Avaya; Dr. Amir
Elan, CEO of Bivio Networks; Andrew Graydon, CTO of BorderWare Technologies;
and Bob O’Neil, Covergence’s President and CEO.
Woodside Fund Backed Companies Recognized for Excellence
“Three of our portfolio companies, Berkeley Design Automation
(BDA), BorderWare and Matisse Networks, were nominated as finalists
in Red Herring’s preliminary list of top 200 private
companies,” said Woodside Fund’s John Occhipinti. “To
have both BDA and Matisse make the Red Herring’s
final top 100 list and Andrew Graydon from BorderWare participate
on the ‘VoIP Security’ panel demonstrate some of the
very talented entrepreneurs that Woodside Fund has attracted and
worked closely with. Similar to the overall editorial mission of
the staff of Red Herring, Woodside Fund has a stellar reputation
of being able to uncover some of the best talent and the ability
to recognize innovative and proven technology.”
Disruptive Technologies
“With venture capital flowing again, we’re seeing a
lot of innovative new companies taking on the established players
with disruptive technologies and innovative business plans,”
said Joel Dreyfuss. “The Red Herring’s Top
100 North America companies are pushing and breaking the boundaries
of the technology business and we are excited to report on their
success stories.”
Berkeley Design Automation is an innovative electronic
design automation (EDA) company focused on the challenges that come
with the increasing analog/radio frequency (RF) content of today’s
semiconductor products for consumer and networking applications.
The company is delivering breakthrough technology to dramatically
improve the design and verification of analog, RF, and mixed-signal
integrated circuits (ICs). The company’s first product has
been adopted by more than ten of the world’s leading semiconductor
companies. Berkeley Design Automation is the first EDA company to
be recognized by the Red Herring Top 100 list in five years.
Matisse Networks brings the benefits of packet
technology to optical networks with the world’s first packet
lambda-switch. This new class of switching technology delivers a
connectionless packet architecture where optical wavelengths are
dynamically switched to different destinations. By fundamentally
rethinking traditional circuit-based optical architectures, Matisse
will deliver new levels of simplicity, efficiency and reliability
for next-generation metro optical networks.
The Best of the Best
Since 1997, Red Herring editors have selected a group of
private companies that are emerging as the brightest stars in the
business universe. After receiving more than 1,000 submissions and
nominations, Red Herring's editorial staff rigorously evaluated
the contenders through a careful analysis of financial data and
subjective criteria, including quality of management, execution
of strategy, and dedication to research and development. The Red
Herring 100 North America companies are at the forefront of
the technologies that are changing our lives in profound ways.
To view the entire 2006 Red Herring 100 list, please visit
www.redherring.com.
About Berkeley Design Automation
Berkeley Design Automation Inc. was founded in 2003 to address the
verification challenges in the design of next-generation high-performance
analog/RF integrated circuits (ICs). Berkeley Design Automation
is a venture-backed, private company funded by Woodside Fund and
Bessemer Venture Partners. The company’s technology characterizes
the nonlinear, time-varying behavior of complex analog and RF circuits,
providing extremely accurate predictions that dramatically reduce
the need for silicon re-spins. The company’s first product,
PLL Noise Analyzer™, the industry's first noise analysis tool
for phase-locked loops (PLLs), has already been adopted by semiconductor
industry leaders. For more information, see http://www.berkeley-da.com
About Matisse Networks
Matisse Networks is named after Henri Matisse, the famous painter
known as the “Master of Color.” Like the painter, Matisse
is mastering the colors of light to pioneer the field of optical
burst switching. Backed by leading venture capital firms Menlo Ventures,
Walden International and Woodside Fund, Matisse is privately held
and headquartered in Mountain View California. Matisse has been
named on of the “Top 10 Startups to Watch” by Network
World. Additional information on Matisse Networks is available
at www.matissenetworks.com.
About Red Herring Magazine
Red Herring magazine is a sophisticated insider's guide
to the business of technology, featuring unparalleled insights on
the emerging technologies driving the economy, from the Internet
to wireless communications and digital entertainment. Red Herring's
journalists report on how innovation and entrepreneurship are transforming
business and how the business of technology is transforming the
world, providing readers with a deep understanding of venture capital
and capital markets. Recognized as an essential resource in today's
fast-changing business world, Red Herring gets the right
answers before anyone else even thinks to ask the questions. More
information on Red Herring is available at www.redherring.com.
About Woodside Fund
Woodside Fund is a leading venture capital firm that excels in developing
early-stage technology companies. Founded in 1983, Woodside Fund
attributes its long record of success to the high value it places
on building productive partnerships with entrepreneurs, other investors
and service providers. Typically a lead investor, Woodside Fund
invests from $5 million to $10 million in early-stage software,
fabless semiconductor and network infrastructure companies located
primarily on the West Coast. Woodside Fund has more than $330 million
in capital under active management. For more information, go to
www.woodsidefund.com.
For all press related questions
or comments, please contact Carole Sinclair at caroles@woodsidefund.com
or phone 925.818.1038.
www.woodsidefund.com

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