PRESS RELEASE
Shanghai,
China - January 26, 2006 - China Seed Ventures,
a seed-stage China-focused venture capital
firm (www.csvcp.com), has announced the launch
of its first fund, China Seed Ventures,
L.P. ("CSV LP"), a US$30 million
fund targeting investments in seed and early-stage
technology or technology-related services
companies located in Greater China.
CSV is led by its two founders, Mr. Ralph
Ungermann and Mr. Earl Yen, who operate
from China and the US. CSV LP is a Cayman
Islands-incorporated limited partnership
and is targeting a first closing of approximately
US$15 million in early 2006, consisting
of commitments from its founders, a major
Japanese IT services company, and additional
corporate and individual investors from
Asia and the US.
Mr.
Ungermann is a legendary Silicon Valley
veteran with 35 years experience of founding,
leading and creating strong exits for high-tech
start-ups. Prior to CSV, Mr. Ungermann
co-founded a series of pioneering US technology
companies including: First Virtual Communications,
a leading supplier of online rich media
communication software; Ungermann-Bass,
the world's first Local Area Network (LAN)
company, and Zilog, a microprocessing pioneer
whose successful Z80 product line won most
of the second generation PC design-ins.
Prior to Zilog, Mr. Ungermann was an early
employee of Intel. In addition, Mr. Ungermann
has also invested as a successful angel
investor in nearly 20 start-ups in the US
and Japan.
Mr.
Yen has nearly 18 years' experience in venture
capital, investment banking, and technology
development in Asia and the United States
and has lived continuously in Greater China
since 1994. Prior to CSV, Mr. Yen
has held senior investment banking positions
in China with Citigroup and Bear Stearns,
where he served as head of the Asia Communications
and Technology Group during the late 1990s.
From 1990 to 1994, Mr. Yen was a venture
capitalist at HarbourVest Partners, a Boston-based
firm, where he focused on investments in
the US software and networking sectors.
Mr. Yen received an MBA from MIT and bachelor
degrees in Electrical Engineering and Management
Science, also from MIT.
Since
2004, CSV's principals have invested
together in a total of seven early-stage
China-based companies in sectors including
IC design, Internet wireless software and
services, and business process outsourcing,
including:
CDP Group,
a Shanghai-based provider of payroll and
other outsourced HR solutions;
Easycomm, a Hangzhou-based developer
of unique mobile solutions and services;
5V Technologies, a Taipei-based IC
designer focused on single-chip VoIP/Wifi
solutions;
Miartech, a Shanghai-based IC designer
focused on energy management applications;
and
PepTalk, a Suzhou-based developer
of software-based mobile IP solutions.
For further information
about CSV, please contact Earl Yen
at earl@csvcp.com.
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