Mindjet®, the Maker of MindManager, Secures $15 Million in Second Round of Funding from IGC and 3i

Mindjet(R) Corporation, the leading provider of software for visualising and managing information, today announced that it has completed a $15 million round of funding, led by Investor Growth Capital (IGC), a new Mindjet investor, and existing investor 3i.

This second round brings total company funding to $20.2 million. Mindjet will use this investment to further establish MindManager''s position as a market leader, support global expansion, and accelerate research and development. In particular, Mindjet will use the funding to develop new collaboration technology that will increase the already widespread use of Mindjet MindManager software among business teams.

"We first heard about Mindjet from a representative of a major U.S. software reseller who told us that customers were ''eating up'' Mindjet''s MindManager," said Noah Walley, Managing Director of IGC. "That same week, we attended two meetings where MindManager was used to present company information. We quickly saw the value the software brought to these businesses and, because of that, sought Mindjet out. In the end, we decided not just to invest in the company, but to use MindManager ourselves."

"In 2001, when we first invested in Mindjet, 3i believed that the company had the potential to make a huge mark on the global business community. The following four years proved us right," said 3i Investor Wolfgang Maennel, "3i is pleased to partner with IGC to support Mindjet with growth capital. We will continue to leverage our global network of resources and contacts to assist the company with its international expansion."

2004 was a record year for Mindjet. The company experienced dramatic growth and success with Global 2000 accounts and government agencies worldwide. Mindjet boosted revenues by more than 60 percent over 2003--and achieved profitability while increasing its global workforce by more than 20 percent. To date, Mindjet has sold more than 500,000 licenses to individuals and companies around the world. Mindjet products are used by thousands of business professionals at companies such as Siemens Group, SAP, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Whirlpool, 3M, UBS, and HP--as well as in government and higher education.

"We looked for investors who could help us move quickly to execute our goal of becoming core, pervasive technology for enterprises around the world," says Mindjet CEO Robert Gordon. "Investor Growth Capital and 3i have long-term investment strategies and global reach that we were seeking to help make Mindjet the pre-eminent worldwide brand for enterprise information visualization and collaboration technology."

Based on software created in 1994 in an isolation room in a cancer hospital, Mindjet grew initially with no external funding, expanding its business solely on its self-generated profits. In 2001, the company acquired $5.2 million in funding from 3i, one of the world''s leading venture capital firms. Mindjet used this financing to increase awareness and to completely rebuild its software in XML.

The resulting MindManager X5 Pro has enabled Mindjet to significantly increase the power and reach of its technology, and to integrate its software with new corporate information and data sources. At the recent DEMO@15, the company launched MindManager Accelerator for Salesforce.com. The Accelerator improves sales productivity by offering teams a fast and easy way to enter and analyze customer information. The solution also enables sales professionals to communicate account status with other team members, sales management and executives. Mindjet will announce a series of new integrations in the coming months.

"Mindjet''s MindManager products help information workers and teams save time and be more productive through the use of rich visualisation of information," noted Mark Levitt, vice president for Collaborative Computing at IDC. "Information workers can use MindManager to organize complex information in visual ''maps'' to support brainstorming, planning and the sharing of ideas and other information in and out of meetings."