MySQL gets $19.5 MM - Mailing list pgsql-general

Don't know if anyone's posted this yet...

This, combined with the admittedly weird SAP DB deal, is bad news for PostgreSQL.  Today, it's clearly the superior
product. It will be tomorrow too.  But Betamax was pretty neat too. 

PostgreSQL needs more corporate support.  Case studies are great, but someone needs to step into the void that Great
Bridgecreated. 

--


MySQL AB Secures $19.5 Million Investment Round Led by Benchmark Capital

Additional Investors in Open Source Database Leader Include Index Ventures

SEATTLE, Wash - (June 3, 2003) - MySQL AB, developer of the world's most popular open source database, announced today
thecompletion of a $19.5 million Series B round of financing to fuel its growth in the mainstream DBMS market.
BenchmarkCapital, the leading global early stage high-technology venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, Calif., is
leadingthe round. Other investors include Index Ventures, a prominent European venture capital firm headquartered in
Geneva,Switzerland. MySQL also announced today that Kevin Harvey, general partner of Benchmark Capital, will join MySQL
AB'sboard of directors. MySQL AB has headquarters in the United States and in Sweden. 

"We chose Benchmark Capital as the lead investor because it has an outstanding track record in building successful
companiesoperating with new business models, such as eBay and Red Hat," said Mårten Mickos, CEO of MySQL AB. "The DBMS
marketis at a turning point, as databases become more commoditized and businesses re-evaluate their data management
softwarestrategies," Mickos continued. "MySQL is in a unique position to address today's database requirements, and
withthe funds from Benchmark and others, we can ramp up our commercial business while continuing to support the open
sourcecommunity." 

"MySQL AB is a strong 'second wave' open source company with a profitable business model, a winning technology that is
battletested by a community of more than 4 million open source advocates, and an established worldwide reach," said Mr.
Harvey."We believe MySQL AB has significant growth potential, and we look forward to helping it attain a long-term
leadershipposition in the database market." 

MySQL AB develops and markets the MySQL® open source database, a high-performance relational database management system
forWeb site and business application development and deployment. MySQL AB employs a dual licensing business model, in
whichthe MySQL database is available under the GPL free software/open source license at no cost and also under a
non-opensource commercial license. MySQL AB's licensing structure supports its open source user community with a
sustainablebusiness model, and this community, in turn, is the engine behind the company's commercial business. 

About MySQL

MySQL AB develops, markets and supports the MySQL database server, the world's most popular open source database. With
anestimated 4 million installations and over 30,000 downloads per day, MySQL is quickly becoming the core of many
high-volume,business-critical applications. Major corporations such as Yahoo!, Lucent Technologies, Sony Pictures
DigitalEntertainment, Motorola, NASA, HP and Xerox rely on the ultra-fast, highly reliable MySQL database. MySQL is
availableunder the free software/open source GNU General Public License (GPL) or a non-GPL commercial license. For more
informationabout MySQL, please go to www.mysql.com. 

About Benchmark Capital

Benchmark Capital was founded in 1995 with the mission of helping talented entrepreneurs build major technology
enterprisesfocused on long-term growth. Benchmark takes a labor-intensive, team-oriented approach to venture investing
inorder to deliver a superior level of service to its portfolio companies. Benchmark's portfolio includes franchise
companiessuch as Ariba (Nasdaq: ARBA), eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), Handspring (Nasdaq: HAND), Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR)
andRed Hat (Nasdaq: RHAT). Managing more than $2 billion in committed venture capital, Benchmark focuses on early-stage
investingin markets where the partners have direct, relevant experience. For more information on Benchmark, visit its
website at www.benchmark.com. 

About Index Ventures

Index Ventures is a leading pan-European venture capital fund dedicated to investments in information technology and
lifesciences. The Index Ventures team, which began investing in 1992, has a deep technology and scientific focus and
theability to leverage a network of cross-Atlantic strategic relationships. Index proactively seeks out the top
entrepreneurialteams in each investment area and leverages its core assets in helping the entrepreneurs build their
companyinto a global leader. Index Ventures investors include leading technology firms and institutional investors. To
learnmore about Index Ventures visit http://www.indexventures.com. 

# # #