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Feb 11, 2003
Invisible Hand Networks Announces Change in Strategy, New Funding, and launches Invisible Hand Services.
 


NEW YORK-Feb. 11, 2003-Invisible Hand Networks, Inc. today announced the completion of a new round of funding, concurrent with a re-alignment of the software company's strategy.

Coming from a combination of new and existing investors, this new round puts the privately held company on track to profitability by the close of 2003, with a fully funded business plan.

Invisible Hand's Merkato software platform enables the dynamic pricing and allocation of IP bandwidth, creating "bandwidth-on-demand" services coupled with real-time market pricing and instant delivery.

"Our mission remains unchanged, namely to make Merkato the de-facto standard platform for IP bandwidth markets," said Dr. Nemo Semret, co-founder and Chairman. "Our new course is an evolutionary one, which allows us to provide each type of customer with the adoption path that is easiest for them, whether through our market-making, exchange services, software licensing, or any combinations thereof. This strategy gives us great synergies across these activities, and a sustainable business model through the different stages of adoption of our technology."

Invisible Hand delivers the value of the Merkato platform directly to buyers and sellers of IP transit bandwidth, through market-making and exchange services operated by the company in partnership with neutral co-location facility providers. The company also licenses the Merkato platform to telecommunications carriers and IP service providers.

The service business, which has traditionally provided the company with a real world environment to constantly prove and refine the technology, is taking on a central role in the overall business.

"While the current state of the telecommunications market offers significant opportunity for revenue centric technologies like Merkato, the resultant extended sales cycles and premium in equity financing have forced us to take a long hard look at where the money is coming from today," said John Cahill, VP of Sales for Invisible Hand Networks.

The company announced that its StreamingHand IP bandwidth market-making service, which currently generates a gross profit, while incurring a relatively low cost for customer acquisition, will be re-launched as Invisible Hand Services. The company plans to further develop and focus more of its attention on this segment of its business in the coming year, as an engine of growth for the company's wider ranging goals. As the first steps in this initiative, the company introduced a stronger service level agreement, additional service infrastructure, and new sales and support programs targeting service customers.

As part of this refocusing effort, the company has relocated its headquarters from Massachusetts back to New York City, where it was founded. This puts it in closer physical proximity to a large number of its service business clients and partners, as well as places the company strategically at the intersection of the biggest bandwidth and financial markets. Reflecting its commitment to profitability, the company has reduced and reorganized the staff to execute on the new priorities.

With the successful acquisition of several significant new participants, the service business, which has grown at an annual rate of 240% since Q2 2001, is on track to surpass this growth in 2003. Building on this success, the company is poised to announce its largest licensing deal to date.

Invisible Hand Networks, the InvisibleHand Networks logo and Merkato, are registered trademarks of Invisible Hand Networks, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

About Invisible Hand Networks, Inc.

Founded in 1998, Invisible Hand Networks is changing the way bandwidth is bought and sold. Invisible Hand's innovative software platform, Merkato, dynamically prices and allocates bandwidth, creating "bandwidth-on-demand" services coupled with market pricing and real-time delivery.

Invisible Hand's Merkato software platform enables a demand-based marketplace that automates price discovery and negotiation, leveraging economic theory and patented market mechanisms. Transactions can be made manually or automatically through intelligent software agents, according to each customer's needs. IP capacity is allocated in real-time in as little as five minute increments. The software is easily integrated with major network elements and billing systems

Invisible Hand Networks, Inc. is based in New York City. For more information, please visit http://www.invisiblehand.net/

CONTACT: Invisible Hand Networks John A. Cahill III office: 508/303-6313 cell: 617/290-1114 jcahill@invisiblehand.net.

 
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