New E-Commerce Market Maker Secures Initial Capitalization

Leading venture capital firms back TestMart

MENLO PARK, Calif - March 11, 1999 -
TestMartTM, an information and commerce marketplace for the test and measurement industry, announced today that it has secured an initial major round of capitalization from Crosspoint Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). TestMart President and CEO Peter Ostrow said, "Our new partners are undisputed leaders in the cultivation of successful business-to-business commerce and technology firms. Their value to our team is far more than financial; their knowledge and influence are a perfect fit with our mission."

TestMart was formed as a private company in 1998 to create community and to develop e-commerce applications for industrial technical equipment industries. Ostrow explained, "Our initial goal is to launch our Web site, www.testmart.com, to answer urgent needs for communications and efficient commerce in the test and measurement industry. TestMart will provide high-quality, third party quantitative data previously unavailable elsewhere for the users of test equipment. The combination of access to proprietary information and a neutral trading environment is extremely powerful resource in a $9 billion industry that has been facing significant resource and distribution challenges."

Mark Perry, NEA General Partner, commented, "TestMart is the perfect prototype of the innovative infomediary that is revolutionizing the business-to-business industry. They have seized an exciting opportunity to secure a preemptive position as the dominant market maker in a willing and fertile field." Crosspoint Managing Partner John Mumford said, "TestMart fits our vision of the reinvention of commerce in industry segments that are ripe for change. Their new business-to-business networked solutions offer dramatic economic benefits to all parties and improve customer and partner relationships and satisfaction."

TestMart is the most comprehensive test equipment reference site and marketplace on the Internet. The site features massive databases of unbiased, proprietary and hard to find information and a safe secure Buy Online area where users can locate, compare, and select from an extensive offering of new and refurbished instruments. Databases contain detailed specifications on over 9,000 test and measurement products, contact and historical information on more than 500 manufacturers and a Reference section with extensive information including calibration intervals, life cycles, Y2K and CE status.

TestMart is a private company formed in 1998 to create community and to develop e-commerce applications for industrial technical equipment industries. Headquarters is located at 851 Traeger Avenue, San Bruno, California 94066; Telephone 650-624-0525, Fax 650-624-0535. For more information on TestMart, address e-mail to jharrington@testmart.com. The TestMart Web site can be found at https://www.testmart.com/.

EDITORIAL CONTACT:
Martin Wolf
650.794.3705
mwolf@testmart.com