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db4objects launches open source company to revive object database industry
Top Silicon Valley investors back innovative open source business model of company developing popular native object database for Java and .NET

SAN MATEO, Calif., December 6, 2004 – db4objects, providers of the leading open source object database for Java and .NET, today announced the company was making its flagship database software product, db4o, available immediately under an open source license. The software license allows open source projects free use of the code. Companies developing and shipping proprietary products can pay for a commercial license and receive support and indemnification.

The company, co-founded by a software entrepreneur and a database technologist who previously started and sold a proprietary software company in Europe, is financially backed by some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley. Investors include Mark Leslie, founding CEO of Veritas, Diane Greene, president of VMware, noted law firm Fenwick and West LLP, and Audrey MacLean, named by BusinessWeek as one of the 50 most influential business women in America. Details of the investment were not disclosed.

"The db4objects software is a mature and stable product. Successful implementations at customers such as BMW Car IT and Europe's INDRA Sistemas demonstrates the value of our object database in real time embedded systems," said Mark Leslie, chairman and director of db4objects. "Our company's new open source dual license initiative, which is especially well suited to these embedded applications, will rapidly expand our presence in these markets."

“Our company is built around an innovative open source model,” said Christof Wittig, CEO of db4objects. “Our software is designed to be simple and fast and can extend the reach of .NET and Java into new markets. Customers can easily and quickly download our software. Developers can have our code up and running in under five minutes.”

db4o, the world’s first native Java and .NET object database, drives complexity out of software systems by giving developers the simplest and easiest way to directly store objects. Developers can store objects in native format without the hassle and overhead of translation to other formats such as SQL. Lightweight design and high performance make db4o ideal for embedded use in real-time control systems, software products, and devices such as mobile electronics, game consoles, medical equipment and automotive systems.

“db4o was the most efficient database we looked at and requires zero administration,” said Eric Falsken, lead application developer of Massie Labs, a medical device company developing advanced retinal imaging products. “Our medical customers rely on db4o to store and compare retinal images for health diagnosis.”

db4objects has already seen more than 100,000 downloads of its flagship db4o database. Global 1000 firms are using the software in mission-critical production environments. Spain’s AVE high-speed train system is expanding to include 4,000 miles of new rail supporting bullet trains traveling more than 210mph. At the heart of this railroad are sophisticated control systems running db4o software to process information flows in real time. BMW Car IT relies on db4o for its next-generation control systems to power their high performance automobiles. And Eastern Data Group, one of the United Kingdom’s leading suppliers of mobile computing systems, helps English dairy farmers deliver milk to market using mobile computers powered by Windows CE and a native .NET db4o database.

About db4objects, Inc
db4objects, Inc (www.db4o.com) provides db4o, the only native object database for both Java and .NET and is available under open source and commercial licenses. With more than 100,000 deployments, db4o is used by some of the world’s largest companies, including BMW, Hertz, and INDRA Sistemas, one of Europe’s biggest traffic and defense contractors. db4objects is a privately held company based in San Mateo, California and backed by noted Silicon Valley investors including Mark Leslie, founding CEO of Veritas, Diane Greene, president of VMware, Fenwick and West LLP, and Audrey MacLean, named by BusinessWeek as one of the 50 most influential business women in America.

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