AlwaysOn Announces 100 Top Private Company Award Winners

AO 100 list showcases most innovative companies of 2005.

San Francisco, CA – June 28, 2005 – AlwaysOn today announced the AO 100 Top Private Companies for 2005. The AlwaysOn editorial panel selected the hundred most innovative and successful private firms from more than 1,000 companies nominated by venture investors, investment bankers, leading entrepreneurs and industry insiders.

Each of the AO 100 winners has demonstrated excellence in five criteria: innovation, market potential, customer adoption, media buzz, and investor value creation. The list consists solely of private companies at all phases of development from start-up to late stage.

"The AO 100 Top Private Companies represent the tech sector's most innovative, disruptive, and exciting firms," said AlwaysOn editor, Tony Perkins. "They all share strong performance track records, robust business models, leading technology, rapid customer adoption, and most importantly, significant market potential. These are the companies to watch."

50 of last year's AO 100 companies have returned to this year's top company list. 26 are winners for a third year; 10 of last year's winners have either gone public, are currently in registration for their IPO, or were acquired during 2004. This year's AO100 class comes from the following technology sectors: Business software (31), Connectivity (26), Devices (13), Media (14), Web services (10), and Hardware (6). Geographically, the AO100 represents the following regions: Western US, Eastern US, Europe, and Asia.

The AlwaysOn AO 100 Top Private Companies for 2005:

2Wire, 360 Commerce, Agitar, Airgo Networks, AmberPoint, Anagran, Application Security, Approva, Arbortext, ArcSight, Aruba Wireless Networks, AuctionDrop, AuthenTec, Axentis, BitFone, Blazent, Blue Arc, Blue Lithium, Bytemobile, Café Press, Cambridge Positioning Systems, Cavium Networks, CipherTrust, Colubris, Crossbow Technology, Danger, DataSynapse, DBS Communications, DemandTec, Digital Chocolate, DivX Networks, Dust Networks, eASIC, eCredit, Egenera, Elemental Security, Encover, Endeca, eSilicon, Everbee, Fios, Force10, Fortinet, Frontbridge, GeoTrust, Good Technology, GraceNote, HelloSoft, Ikanos, IMLogic, Impinj, Infinera, Infoblox, Ingenio, Inxight Software, IronPort, Isilon, Linden Lab, Linkedln, Massive Incorporated, Matrix Semiconductor, Mediabolic, Mellanox, Melodeo, MFORMA, Mobile 365, MontaVista Software, MySQL, Narus, NeoScale, Netezza, NetMotion Wireless, NexTag, Orb Networks, PhoneBites, Posit Science, Pronto Networks, Quova, Rackspace Managed Hosting, Reactivity, Reactrix, Securify, Seven, Skype, SourceFire, SS8, Technorati, Tellme, Unicru, UPEK, Veraz Networks, Virsa, Visto, Vocera Communications, Voltage Security, Vonage, Whole Security, Xfire, Zantaz, Zettacore.

The AO 100 companies will be honored at a VIP reception during the upcoming AO 2005: Innovation Summit at 5.00pm on July 19, 2005 at the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center on the Stanford University Campus.

The chief executives of many AO 100 companies will also present their business plans at the CEO Pitch sessions during the event.

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