Penguin Computing Closes $9 Million in Series 2 Financing

Ramps up product development, sales & marketing to accelerate market

penetration in fastest growing segments of Linux cluster virtualization

market

    SAN FRANCISCO, March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Penguin Computing, the leader
 in Linux Cluster Virtualization, today announced that it has closed $9
 million in Series 2 financing, led by vSpring Capital, with participation
 from existing investors, San Francisco Equity Partners, Weber Capital and
 Convergence Partners. The injection of funds will help Penguin Computing
 take advantage of the increasing demand for Linux High Performance
 Computing (HPC) solutions, both among its strong customer base in the
 commercial, government and academic fields, and beyond to rapidly expanding
 enterprise markets such as web infrastructure. In connection with the
 transaction, Ed Ekstrom, managing director at vSpring, has joined Penguin
 Computing's Board of Directors.
     (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20051012/SFPENGCOMPLOGO)
     The capital will be used to enhance the capabilities of the company's
 Scyld ClusterWare(TM) cluster management software, whose unique
 architecture enables users to manage large pools of Linux servers as a
 single, virtual, consistent system, drastically reducing complexity and
 cost. The new investment will also be used to help grow its salesforce and
 professional services organization to meet rapidly increasing customer
 demand and to drive aggressive marketing efforts to expand its customer
 base in the enterprise, technical and scientific computing and commercial
 high performance markets.
     "vSpring Capital's team is extremely well-versed in our space. We value
 their knowledge and expertise highly and look forward to welcoming Ed
 Ekstrom to our Board," commented Enrico Pesatori, Chairman and C.E.O.,
 Penguin Computing. "By ramping up our investment in software development
 and professional services, we will accelerate our innovation in the design,
 integration and support of scalable Linux clustering systems that are
 highly efficient, simple, affordable and extremely flexible. In particular,
 the new funds will help to speed up the development and growth of our
 ground-breaking technology, Scyld ClusterWare, which is fast becoming the
 de facto standard for Linux clustering."
     Founded in 1998, Penguin Computing has developed an exceptional
 expertise in Linux systems. In 2003, it acquired Scyld Computing
 Corporation, a trailblazer in Linux clustering for high performance
 computing, to take advantage of the huge market demand for clustering
 solutions. Penguin Computing is a pioneer in this market which has grown
 103% since 2002, causing a "growth revolution", according to industry
 analyst firm, IDC. Its customers have come to depend on its powerful
 combination of competitively-priced, energy-efficient Linux systems and its
 industry-leading Scyld ClusterWare clustering software, which is
 complemented by a team of highly-skilled, responsive service professionals.
     "Penguin Computing's value proposition is compelling for several
 reasons -- we've been impressed by the company's strong customer base, the
 experience of its management team, talented Linux experts, and the strength
 of its product offering," said Ed Ekstrom, managing director at vSpring
 Capital. "The momentum of the Linux cluster market coupled with Penguin
 Computing's unique capabilities, make us confident in the continued growth
 and profitability for the company and its partners."
     Merriman Curhan Ford and Company advised Penguin Computing in the
 transaction.
     About Penguin Computing
     Penguin Computing is the leader in Cluster Virtualization, delivering
 virtualized cluster systems driven by Scyld ClusterWare(TM) its unique
 Linux software, which makes large pools of Linux servers appear and act
 like a single virtual system. Through a single point of command/control,
 thousands of systems can be managed as if they were a single, consistent,
 virtual system, dramatically simplifying deployment and management and
 significantly improving server performance and data center resource
 utilization. Focused on the high performance computing, enterprise
 consolidation and web hosting markets, the company has an extensive
 customer base including Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies and
 educational institutions. Founded in 1998, Penguin Computing is
 headquartered in San Francisco, California. To learn more about High
 Performance Computing Linux and Web Clustering, please visit Penguin
 Computing at http://www.penguincomputing.com.
     About vSpring Capital
     vSpring Capital (http://www.vspring.com) is a generalist venture
 capital fund focusing on investment opportunities in Information Technology
 and Life Sciences. vSpring looks for companies with the potential to
 transform their markets and create lasting value. The firm's primary areas
 of focus include enterprise software, networking and communications,
 security software, Internet, mobile computing, drug discovery, drug
 delivery, diagnostics, and medical devices, all markets where the firm has
 deep experience. vSpring capitalizes on the managerial skills and operating
 experience of its principals to successfully invest in and advise portfolio
 companies. vSpring's previous investments have included LANDesk, Altiris,
 MyFamily.com, comScore Networks and Salus Therapeutics, among others. The
 firm invests nationally but has a strong regional presence in the Mountain
 West with offices in Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
     About San Francisco Equity Partners
     San Francisco Equity Partners of San Francisco is a private equity firm
 focused on expansion-stage companies within the consumer, information
 technology, media and service industries, and has a proven track record of
 working with growth companies. The firm was founded in partnership with LMS
 Capital to offer its portfolio companies access to a global network of
 industry contacts and deep financial resources. For more information please
 visit http://www.sfequitypartners.com.
     Penguin Computing is a registered trademark and Scyld ClusterWare is a
 trademark of Penguin Computing, Inc. Linux is a registered trademark of
 Linus Torvalds. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be
 trademarks of their respective owners.
 
 

SOURCE Penguin Computing, Inc.