Concurrent Thinking, new investment in high performance computing systems

Oxford Capital Partners invests in Concurrent Thinking

Oxford, UK, 30 October 2006

Oxford Capital Partners has announced its investment in Concurrent Thinking Limited, a University of Warwick spin-out company based in the Warwick Technology Park in Leamington Spa. Concurrent Thinking operates in the High Performance Computing (HPC), or “Supercomputing”, market, where it is a leader in the provision of cluster integration services and parallel computing software. Oxford Capital Partners led this round of funding which has raised £1.7 million and which also included the Forward Group and Midven Ltd. ICON Corporate Finance acted as corporate finance advisers to Concurrent Thinking.

Globally the supercomputing market is worth $9.2bn. Changes in this market mean that traditional supercomputers are losing market share to more cost effective solutions such as the systems offered by Concurrent Thinking. These systems can be thought of as clusters of ordinary computers, with sophisticated system and application management software. It is predicted that up to 80% of all high performance computing needs will soon be met by clusters, and that the cluster architecture will gain significant penetration in the broader enterprise computing market, thus creating a significant market opportunity for Concurrent Thinking.

Concurrent Thinking operates through two trading divisions, Streamline Computing and Allinea Software. Streamline Computing has established a reputation for delivering high quality clusters in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. It has now delivered over 250 systems, including seven that have appeared in the Top 500 list of the world’s most powerful computers. Its customers include Rolls Royce, Corus, Schlumberger, Serco Assurance, Chevron Texaco and over 30 universities, including most of the UK’s leading universities.

Allinea, Concurrent Thinking’s software arm, provides development tools that allow HPC users to optimise and debug programs on clusters and massively parallel computers. The software has been accredited by the major Tier One vendors such as HP, IBM and Sun Microsystems, and is currently being ported to some of the largest supercomputing platforms in the world. With the advent of multi-core chips for desktop and embedded applications, Allinea is well-positioned to exploit the rapid growth of parallelism and the inevitable need for scalable tools.

“The HPC market is currently undergoing a paradigm shift and Concurrent Thinking is leading the way with its cluster integration technologies, and with its software tools arm, Allinea. Oxford Capital Partners is delighted to support Concurrent Thinking at this stage of its growth and to have led this round of funding, which should allow the company to expand more forcefully into the international arena and develop the next generation of tools for the next generation of supercomputers.” said Dr Victor Christou, Investment Manager at Oxford Capital Partners.

“Over the lifetime of the company, Concurrent Thinking has demonstrated exceptional growth while investing significantly in R&D. We welcome the new partnership with Oxford Capital Partners and the Forward Group, as well as the continued support of existing investors such as Midven, in helping us to achieve our ambitious goals.” said Dr Michael Rudgyard, CEO and founder.

Eddie Harding of ICON Corporate Finance added “We are delighted to have assisted Concurrent Thinking in raising this funding which provides the company with a tremendous opportunity to build upon its current position as a leading provider of cluster-based supercomputers. It will enable management to scale the business; both internationally and also across the wider enterprise computing market.”

Concurrent Thinking was advised by Eddie Harding of ICON Corporate Finance; legal advisers were Robert Bough of Willmer Hale who acted for the company, Barry Maytum of Nabarro Nathanson, acting for Oxford Capital Partners and Joanne Bligh of Browne Jacobsen, acting for Forward Group

Information for editors

Please contact:
Joanne Telford
Oxford Capital Partners
Tel: 01865 860 760
jtelford@oxcp.com
www.oxcp.com

About Oxford Capital Partners

Oxford Capital Partners is a science and technology venture capital firm with extensive experience of commercialising science and technology and supporting businesses with high growth potential. Oxford Capital Partners seeks to identify the best opportunities for investment. We back exceptional entrepreneurs and invests across all stages of development from start-up to IPO, in the UK and internationally. Oxford Capital Partners manages the Oxford Gateway Funds and is currently investing its 4th fund in this series and manages of portfolio of over 25 companies in the technology and life sciences sectors.

With experience of investing across the Information and Communications Technology sector, Oxford Capital Partners focuses on opportunities in Web 2.0, enterprise software, mobile applications, semiconductors and related services. Many investments in the portfolio are based around the convergence of technologies in these sectors. Recent investments include TXT4, Infobasis, Rostima, Helveta and Concurrent Thinking.

Oxford Capital Partners was named Venture Capital House of the Year at the 2005 Unquote awards.

About Forward Group

Forward Group is an evergreen private equity Fund with over £100m of assets under management which offers support not only with funds, but also assists with operational, financial and strategic support where necessary.

Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Forward Venture Management Limited, Forward Group makes and manages investments of between £250,000 and £10m in young and growing companies in the UK.

The company has experience and is comfortable in investing in technology, leisure, property and specialist engineering including medical.

www.forwardgroup.co.uk

About Midven Limited

Midven Limited is a privately-owned company with a successful track record of investing in small and medium-sized enterprises in the Midlands. It manages a variety of funds and has invested in various sectors, including software, biotechnology, healthcare, engineering, manufacturing and distribution.

The £20 million Advantage Growth Fund was launched in February 2003 by Advantage West Midlands to invest venture capital in small and medium-sized companies in the West Midlands. Managed by Midven Limited, its investors include Barclays Bank, the Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, the European Investment Fund, local universities and the Department of Trade and Industry.

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