NEWS

CIT's GAP Fund Invests $100,000 in 4Wave Inc.

Sterling, VA, August 10, 2004 – Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) today announced the first investment from its Growth Acceleration Program (GAP) to 4Wave, Inc. The Sterling, Va., firm provides custom process equipment and engineering services to meet challenging vacuum equipment and thin-film processing needs.

4Wave received a $2 million award from the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Advanced Technology Program (ATP) in September 2003 to develop a four-channel miniature optical filter chip. The proprietary chip design miniaturizes and dramatically reduces the cost of wave-division multiplexing filters used in 10-Gigabit Ethernet. The $100,000 convertible-debt investment from CIT’s GAP fund will be used to package sample quantities of components for sales to transceiver manufacturers.

“When 4Wave’s individual attempts for ATP funding were unsuccessful, CIT convinced us to try again with their guidance in the complex, multi-stage process,” said Sami Antrazi, 4Wave president. “We won the ATP award to develop our technology, and now CIT’s GAP fund will help us with the final stages of prototype development.”

CIT’s seven-step GAP evaluation process is designed to move a very early-stage high-potential Virginia technology company from inception through technical and business reviews toward an initial investment by CIT. The composition, structure and process of CIT’s Investment Advisory Board is designed to give investors a high level of confidence in the downstream potential of the companies that emerge. The Board reviews CIT’s evaluations, performs due diligence and makes the final investment decisions.

“As market demand for 10-Gigabit Ethernet grows, we see tremendous potential for 4Wave’s breakthrough technology in atomic layer engineering,” said Peter Jobse, CIT president. “Early-stage investment by CIT bridges that critical capital gap to move Virginia’s innovative technologies from research and development into products, and it gives the venture capital community a new source of qualified high-tech firms.”

CIT launched its GAP fund in December 2003 to help fill the funding void created by a shortfall of angel capital for new technology ventures. The program supports CIT’s efforts to accelerate Virginia’s next generation of technology companies, which emerged from Governor Warner’s Commonwealth of Virginia Strategic Plan for Technology.

“Our goals are to facilitate the development of a significant pipeline of investment-grade companies and to attract investors for these opportunities,” said Tom Weithman, CIT’s vice president of entrepreneurship and investment services and the GAP fund architect.

Members of CIT’s Investment Advisory Board are: William Caragol, Chief Financial Officer, Millivision, Inc. ; Peter Jobse, President, CIT ; Suzanne King, Partner, New Enterprise Associates ; John May, Managing Partner, New Vantage Group ; Don Rainey, Partner, Intersouth Venture Partners ; Bruce C. Robertson, General Partner, Toucan Capital.

More information on CIT’s GAP fund is available online,www.cit.org/gap.

About 4Wave, Inc.

4Wave is the premier developer of atomic layer engineering techniques through ion beam processing innovations. 4Wave’s expertise in ion beam and plasma processing systems, ion/electron/plasma sources and in-situ process monitors for the etching and deposition of thin films has resulted in the development of the Biased Target Deposition Technique. BTD is uniquely suited to demanding nanotechnology advancements in optical, semiconductor and magnetic device industries. (www.4waveinc.com)

About Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology

CIT is a state-chartered nonprofit corporation that accelerates the next generation of Virginia’s technology and technology companies. CIT provides the only statewide suite of programs and services for technology researchers in Virginia’s colleges, universities and federal labs as well as for technology entrepreneurs and small technology businesses in all regions of the Commonwealth. (www.cit.org)

4Wave Contact:
Trey Middleton, VP Business Development
703.787.9283x100
tmiddleton@4waveinc.com

Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology Contact:
Margo Dunn
703.689.3070
mdunn@cit.org