EARLYBIRD | Venture Capital




	Thursday July 1, 2004		Earlybird is participating as largest investor in a $34 Million Investment in ZONARE Medical Systems

	-Developer of revolutionary Ultrasound Technology Close to Market Entry Receives Additional Financing from Transnational Venture Capital Firm- PALO ALTO, Calif., MUNICH and HAMBURG, Germany (July 1, 2004) - - Earlybird Venture Capital announced today the closing of ZONARE’s $ 34 million, Series E round of equity funding, as its largest investor. Earlybird, one of the initial investors in Mountain View, Calif.-based ZONARE™ Medical Systems, Inc., has retained its leading investor position throughout subsequent rounds of funding. ZONARE™ was founded in 1999 and was formerly known as Novasonics. The Company designs, develops, and manufactures high performance portable ultrasound products, which combine revolutionary technology with innovative design allowing for cart based and portable use. Including this round of financing, ZONARE™ has raised a total of $ 92.9 million. Rolf Mathies, one of Earlybird’s founding partners, said, “Our investment in ZONARE™ reflects our strategic involvement in the growing medical devices market. The ZONARE™ investment is a prime example of our transnational business approach, which includes helping U.S. companies access the European market and vice versa.” ZONARE´s CEO Don Southard stated, “The Earlybird team provides active support to accelerate companies, such as ours, and helps us to succeed on the global marketplace. Earlybird has given us much more than just the money.” “The technology developed by ZONARE™ truly has the potential to revolutionize the $3 billion worldwide ultrasound market and will have applications in the highly promising market for real time 3D ultrasound imaging,” added Thom Rasche, a venture partner at Earlybird and the firm’s board representative at ZONARE™. ZONARE™ has collaborated early on with its strategic investors Ascension Health, Kaiser Permanente Foundation, and Siemens Venture Capital. Montagu Newhall is a new investor in ZONARE™ that participated in Series E financing, along with other prior investors, Frazier Healthcare, Draper Fisher Jurvetson ePlanet Ventures, CB Health Ventures, Merrill Lynch Ventures, and Mosaix Ventures. About ZONARE™ ZONARE™ Medical Systems, Inc. designs, develops, and manufactures high performance ultrasound solutions, which combine revolutionary technology with an innovative physical design allowing for cart based and portable use. Zone Sonography technology, ZONARE's unique patented approach to ultrasound imaging, is focused on bringing premium performance to all clinical settings, leading to enhanced diagnostic capabilities, more cost effective operation and increased value to providers. For more information, please visit www.zonare.com. About Earlybird Earlybird Venture Capital provides capital, management support, and a large network of industry experts to information technology, communications, and healthcare enterprises, as well as innovative entrepreneurs in Europe and North America. More information can be accessed at www.earlybird.com. # # # Note to editors: ZONARE is a trademark of ZONARE Medical Systems, Inc. Other trademarks and registered trademarks referenced herein remain the property of their respective owners. For further information, please contact: Marianne Winkler 525 University Avenue, Suite 410 Palo Alto, CA 94391, USA Tel: +1-(650)-330 3633 Fax: +1-(650)-330 3634 winkler@earlybird.com Daniela von Wedel Van-der-Smissen-Str. 3 22767 Hamburg Germany Tel.: +49-40-4329 41-0 Fax: +49-40-4329 41-29 vonwedel@earlybird.com