ATI Lays New Foundation for Spearheading Growth in the Region

ATI to focus on strategic sectors with a global orientation

Austin, TX August 22, 2005 - The ATI, a component of the IC² Institute of The University of Texas at Austin, has been guiding early stage technology ventures to commercial success for more than 15 years. Building on that legacy, ATI today unveiled a strategy for its next 15 years in which the organization will not only continue to provide baseline needs for start-up companies, but will also increasingly focus on two key elements of modern business success: industry-sector focus and global orientation.

When ATI opened its doors 15 years ago, there was no infrastructure for new ventures in Austin. Investors were few and service providers did not yet have a handle on how to deal with start-up companies. ATI, the brainchild of the late George Kozmetsky and its first director, Laura Kilcrease, was an enabler in building that infrastructure which is now well established. However, to be competitive in the 21st century, early stage companies must not only leverage this infrastructure but also get access to the relevant experience and insight of advisors who can guide them as they launch their businesses and face global competition in their respective industry sectors, said Dr. John Sibley Butler, Director of the IC² Institute and professor in the McCombs School of Business and the College of Liberal Arts. ATI is re-launching to provide early stage companies with this assistance and ensure that Austins economy grows and remains globally competitive.

"ATI has a long history of facilitating collaboration between Austins business, academic and government sectors. Its contributions are largely responsible for the emergence of the semiconductor and software industries in Austin and I am certain its programs will greatly influence future growth in key Austin technology sectors", said Michael Rollins, president and CEO of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. The re-launch strategy of ATI is aligned and extremely complimentary to supporting goals of the Opportunity Austin economic development strategy. It is a strategy that ultimately insures that more Austin companies will be global players.

ATI to Help Ventures Go Global on Day One
In order to face the increased competition from abroad, early-stage companies must learn to tackle the global market early on and not wait years before venturing into foreign markets. In many technology sectors such as wireless, this is particularly relevant given that a large majority of the market is located outside of the United States. ATI increasingly enables companies to compete in the global marketplace by leveraging a worldwide network of partners that the IC² Institute and ATI have developed through years of global cooperation. As an example, ATI, in partnership with Lockheed Martin, recently launched high tech business accelerators in Poland that will help link US and Polish start-ups and develop relationships that benefit both nations. Moving forward, ATI will repeat this strategy in various regions around the globe in order to increase its reach and act as a global gateway for Austin companies seeking to establish themselves worldwide.

ATI to Provide Industry Sector-Specific Resources
ATI plans to launch incubators that will operate under the ATI umbrella and focus on specific industry sectors that have been identified as strategic to the regional economy. These sector-focused incubators will provide entrepreneurs with access to the insights and guidance of advisors with many years of experience in the specific sectors. By leveraging synergies between companies and providing access to industry veterans, academic experts from The University of Texas, and technical advisors with real-world expertise and contacts in specific sectors, ATI will attract more businesses to Austin and increase the growth-rate of participating companies.

Building on Success
Over its 15-year existence, ATI has incubated more than 150 companies that have collectively created over 3,000 direct and 7,000 indirect jobs, raised over $720M in capital, and generated over $1.5 billion in revenue. Four of them have reached the public markets. Hundreds of students from The University of Texas have worked with ATI to gain a real world understanding of how companies are developed and launched. Many Ph. D dissertations and professors from around the world have used ATI as a key resource for data to identify best practices of business creation. ATI will continue work with the academic and business communities to attract top talent and generate successful businesses that create jobs, revenue and valuable insight for the Austin community, The University of Texas, and the technology community worldwide.

About ATI

The Austin Technology Incubator (ATI) is a nonprofit organization that harnesses local business, government and academic resources to provide strategic counsel, operational guidance and infrastructure support to its member companies to help them transition from early stage ventures to successful technology businesses. ATI enables its members to successfully compete in the global marketplace by linking them with ATI's worldwide network of industry leaders, experts from academia and professional service providers. ATI companies have raised more than $720 million in capital, generated more than $1.5 billion in revenue and created more than 3,000 jobs. The ATI is a key program of the IC2 Institute at The University of Texas at Austin.

For more information please visit http://www.ati.utexas.edu

Media contacts:
Kari Hernandez
INK Public Relations for ATI
512.228.2835
kari@ink-pr.com