LOS ANGELES, July 24, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Boston-based LifeFX, Inc. (Nasdaq:LEFX) the leading developer of Stand-In(tm) virtual people for the Internet has signed on as a client of the Endeavor Entertainment Marketing Group, part of the Endeavor talent agency. LifeFX is creating "the face on the Internet (tm)" through its Stand-In(tm) software, which enables the creation of life-like, photo-realistic, virtual representations of people that can speak, express and emote like real people.
Brands like Motorola, Sprint, Kodak, IBM and Whirlpool are licensing and implementing the LifeFX Stand-In software to bring their brand personality to life. As Jonathon Jackson, Sr. Analyst of eMarketer, states, "Brand awareness and loyalty are cherished objectives for any marketer. But making brands come alive online is no easy task. By leveraging new technologies of the kind that LifeFX offers, marketers may well be on their way to that lofty goal."
Since LifeFX debuted its first commercial application earlier this year, LifeFX has announced a succession of major agreements with Fortune 100 companies.
"Endeavor is the most cutting-edge, aggressive and fastest-growing agency with good reason," said Lucie Salhany, CEO and Co-President, LifeFX. "Our decision to form this strategic relationship is grounded in Endeavor's track record for identifying, creating and closing big opportunities."
"We are very excited to be able to work with LifeFX and apply this revolutionary technology to Brands and bring their personalities to life in extended ways and over mediums never before possible," explained Lon Rosen, Endeavor Partner. "Wherever there is a need for an engaging human-machine interface -- be it computer, interactive Media or web-enabled appliance -- LifeFX will set the standard for interactive personal communications. The entertainment applications of their product alone are extraordinary."
Endeavor Entertainment Marketing seeks to build mutually beneficial relationships between corporate clients and entertainment industry companies. Services include: custom sponsored programming; television, theatrical and new media product sales; product placement; virtual integration services; promotion consulting; new media consulting; and media sales. The marketing group is part of Endeavor, an integrated talent and literary agency that represents some of the most prolific writers, producers, directors and actors worldwide. By placing service and client needs above all, Endeavor has become the fastest-growing talent agency in recent years.
About LifeFX
Lifef/x, Inc., a Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE:SFE) partner company, is creating the face of the Internet by developing photo-realistic, digital human faces, or LifeFX Stand- In (TM) virtual people, that can interact in real time. LifeFX Stand-In (TM) virtual people will be used by Web businesses as life-like customer-service and sales representatives, guides, teachers and entertainers, while consumer applications will include e-mail, instant messaging and chat rooms. The LifeFX technology was originally developed for professional medical applications by the University of Auckland, with which LifeFX has an exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, paid up license. LifeFX holds three patents and has five pending. For more information about LifeFX, visit http://www.lifefx.com. For application ideas and demos, visit http://www.facemail.com
Statements made in this news release, other than those concerning historical information, should be considered forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are made based on management's belief as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. LifeFX Inc.'s future results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements because of a variety of factors, including the ability of the company to implement its business strategy; the ability of the company to achieve the intended benefits of this strategy; the ability of the company to complete development of its technology; the ability of the company to achieve success in forging strategic relationships; adoption of the technology by major consumer and commercial Web sites; the ability of the company to commercialize the technology before competitors; the ability of the company to retain key employees; and those factors identified in Lifef/x, Inc.'s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2000, and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and subsequent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.