YOUpowered RECEIVES $17M IN SECOND ROUND FUNDING

YOUpowered Inc, a leading provider of permission based personalization technology and solutions for ebusiness and consumers, announced that it has secured $17 million in a second round of venture capital financing led by American Express Financial Corporation, followed by BEA Systems Inc, FLV Fund, Wasserstein Adelson Ventures, J. & W. Seligman & Co Inc, Archery Capital, Red Coat Capital and Coqui Capital Partners.

"We believe YOUpowered is uniquely positioned to be a leader in the rapidly expanding field of privacy and personalization," said Ed Braginsky, vice president of corporate development at BEA Systems. "Incredible growth opportunities exist in this space and we believe YOUpowered has an opportunity to become a leader in the market. Built from the ground up on an industrial-strength application server and leveraging EJB and XML standards, YOUpowered technology offers enterprise-class scalability, reliability and ease of integration with other components of an e-business system."

"When investing in private companies on behalf of our mutual fund and other investment clients, we look for firms that have superior technology and are poised for growth," said John Everhart, senior analyst, private placement group, American Express Financial Corporation. "YOUpowered is strong on both fronts."

YOUpowered brought its breakthrough technology Orby Privacy Plus (Orby) to public attention in June, as part of a set of Web tools that allows computer users to take advantage of the Platform for Privacy Preference Project or P3P to match their privacy preferences to the privacy policy at Websites. Consumer Trust, YOUpowered's server-side ebusiness companion to Orby, which enables Websites to deliver automated privacy statements, was introduced in July. YOUpowered software is designed so companies can offer customers the chance to give permission and express their privacy preferences in return for customized content and services.

"Personalization will continue to be a defining goal of next-generation Websites and become a mission-critical function of Web server software," said Dara Akbarian, vice president of Wasserstein Perella & Co, which manages Wasserstein Adelson Ventures. "YOUpowered's unique solution addresses the need for consumers' online privacy protection while allowing online businesses to offer their customers fully tailored products and services through the entire customer interaction. Through its advanced server technology and proprietary artificial intelligence behavior profiling, YOUpowered is positioned to become a leader in the online personalization and privacy space."

"The financing we have received through our second round will allow us to continue the rapid expansion of our product suite and move forward with several strategic marketing initiatives," said Bonnie Lowell, CEO of YOUpowered. "We plan to build on our current success and announce a number of strategic alliances in the coming months."

About American Express Financial Corporation

American Express Financial Corporation is an international money management organization with offices in Minneapolis, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and London. It is the investment manager for American Express Funds, a family of 47 mutual funds with over $105 billion in assets under management, as well as for American Express Asset Management, which manages pension funds and other institutional accounts.

About BEA Systems Inc

BEA Systems Inc is the E-Commerce Transactions Company, powering many of the world's most innovative companies that serve the "e-generation," companies such as Amazon.com, Federal Express, E*TRADE, United Airlines, DIRECTV, Qwest, Nokia, and Kaiser-Permanente. The e-generation relies on the Web to conduct its everyday business, demanding richer, more personalized experiences and the guarantee that your Web site is always available -- every minute of every day. The award-winning BEA E-Commerce Transaction Platform, coupled with BEA consulting, education, and support services, helps companies launch reliable ecommerce initiatives quickly. BEA solutions help companies of all sizes build e-commerce infrastructures that leverage existing investments and provide the foundation for running a successful integrated e-business for the egeneration. BEA has more than 70 offices in 29 countries, is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and is on the Web at www.bea.com.

About FLV Fund

FLV Fund, www.flvfund.com, is the first global selective fund to focus entirely on applications of Speech, Artificial Intelligence and Language technology (S.AI.L.). FLV Fund provides venture capital (typically in the range of 1 - 7 million USD) to companies with high growth potential which are developing S.AI.L.-applications in the following categories: telecommunications, PC & multimedia, automotive, industrial, security, consumer electronics and consulting and services. FLV Fund's in-depth expertise and network result in an efficient and effective decision-making process, investments in high-quality companies, active coaching and above-average returns on investment.

About Wasserstein Adelson Ventures

Wasserstein Perella & Co, through the $135 million Wasserstein Adelson Ventures fund, a joint venture with media industry veteran Merv Adelson, identifies and invests in emerging companies whose business strategy can be augmented through its industry and capital markets expertise and global access to strategic alliance partners. Wasserstein Adelson Ventures focuses on middle- and late-stage opportunities in digital media enabling technologies, Internet commerce applications, and Internet infrastructure technologies.

About J. & W. Seligman & Co

J. & W. Seligman & Co Incorporated was founded in 1864. Based in New York City, Seligman is an investment manager and advisor with more than $30 billion in assets under management. As well as providing management and advisory services to institutional clients, the firm provides a broad array of investments to individuals including the Seligman Group of Funds with more than 50 portfolios, Trillium, a variable annuity, and a range of retirement services. Additionally, it manages Tri-Continental Corporation, the nation's largest publicly traded, diversified closed-end investment company, and two closed-end municipal bond funds which are traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Seligman also manages a range of offshore investments available exclusively for non-US investors.

About YOUpowered

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in New York City, YOUpowered, named one of the Upside Hot 100 companies for 2000, is the leading provider of permission based personalization software for ebusiness and consumers. The company offers the first and only software that allows computer users to take advantage of P3P to match their privacy preferences to the privacy policy at Websites.

YOUpowered's SmartSense technology builds rich, Webwide behavioral profiles that enable companies to deliver real-time personalization across all consumer touchpoints. Their P3P-compliant Consumer Trust boasts automated privacy statement management. For the desktop, YOUpowered offers Orby privacy plus, a tool that lets consumers control the way they share personal information with Websites.

YOUpowered has grown to over 70 employees, and its offices include an engineering facility in Lowell, Massachusetts, as well as offices in Atlanta, Seattle, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New Jersey, Virginia and Waterloo, Ontario.

Contact MA Neff, 212-324-1400 x2110, MA@youpowered.com, or Ruder Finn, Robyn Slater, 212-593-6436, slaterr@ruderfinn.com.