Axxana Secures $9 Million Series B Funding Led by Carmel Ventures

HERZLIYA, ISRAEL--(Marketwire - November 18, 2009) - Carmel Ventures announced today that it has led a $9 million Series B investment in Axxana. Axxana's existing investors, Gemini Israel Funds and the serial entrepreneur Moshe Yanai, also participated in the round. The funds will be used to accelerate the adoption of The Phoenix System™ -- the first "Black Box" Enterprise Data Recorder (EDR). Ronen Nir, partner of Carmel Ventures, joined Axxana's Board of Directors.

Axxana was founded by Alex Winokur, Ph.D., Eli Efrat and Dan Hochberg, veterans of the data storage industry, to address the number one challenge in data protection: recovering data with zero data loss over any distance. Axxana's first EDR (Enterprise Data Recorder) product, the Phoenix System RP, was demonstrated at EMC World in May 2009.

"Axxana's EDR brings a disruptive solution that is well poised to transform the entire storage replication market and create a whole new category within it," said Ronen Nir, Partner at Carmel Ventures. "We are impressed with Axxana's strong founding team and their achievements so far, including impressive endorsement by leading storage vendors worldwide. We look forward to joining their existing investors in supporting Axxana to become a leader in this fast growing market."

"This round of investment demonstrates continued confidence in the strength of our technology and its enormous market potential," said Eli Efrat, Axxana's CEO. "It is a significant validation of our business strategy and product roadmap. The ability to provide organizations with zero data loss over any distance, combined with an affordable price tag, ensures that SMEs and large enterprises no longer have to compromise their disaster recovery solution."

Axxana's first product to the market is the Phoenix System RP, which is the only product to enable 100% disaster recovery with zero data loss (RPO=0) over any distance, for significantly less than the cost of traditional data mirroring alternatives. The Phoenix System RP complements the asynchronous replication solution offered by EMC's RecoverPoint.

About Carmel Ventures

With over $600 million currently under management, several successful exits, and a growing portfolio of promising start-ups, Carmel is among Israel's top-tier venture capital funds. Carmel's investments are focused primarily on early stage companies in the fields of Software, Communications, Internet, Digital Media, Semiconductors, and Consumer Electronics. Founded in 2000 by pioneers and leaders of the Israeli high tech industry, Carmel provides significant capital and active, hands-on support through the growth cycle of its portfolio companies and is recognized as a true company building fund in Israel. Carmel, headquartered in Herzliya, Israel enjoys a worldwide network of industry, strategic and investment resources. Carmel is an affiliate of the Viola Partners Group, a leading innovative private equity investment group with close to $2B under management focused on technology-based investment opportunities in Israel. For more information, visit www.carmelventures.com.

About Axxana

Axxana was founded by veterans of the data storage industry to address the number one challenge in data protection -- recovering data with zero data loss over any distance. Axxana's disaster recovery solution represents a new domain in data protection: Enterprise Data Recording (EDR). Serving enterprises around the world and working in close conjunction with some of the most prestigious names in the data storage industry, Axxana has introduced a solution that will alter the economics behind data protection and disaster recovery. Axxana is a Delaware Corporation and maintains offices in Newton, MA and Tel Aviv, Israel. For more information visit www.axxana.com

Contact Information: Media Contact Hila Shitrit Nissim Marketing and IR Associate Carmel Ventures Tel: +972 9 972 0421 hilas@carmelventures.com