Issue date: May 26, 1999

TECH REPORT TECH REPORT (May 26, 1999)

News from high-tech and venture capital businesses.

Onsale Inc., a Menlo Park-based Internet retailer, was recently ranked as the second fastest growing public company in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times. Onsale revenue grew 588 percent over the three-year period 1996-98, and totaled $208 million last year, the company said. Jerry Kaplan, Onsale's president and CEO, said that in the first quarter of this year, Onsale had more than 1 million registered customers, and averaged 161,000 unique visitors a day. Onsale (Nasdaq:ONSL) sells computer equipment online and conducts online auctions of excess merchandise and services, including personal computers, consumer electronics, sports and fitness equipment, and vacation packages. Web site: www.onsale.com.

EFax.com Inc., a Menlo Park-based fax-to-email provider, announced May 18 that Rob Pollock, president and chief operating officer, resigned by mutual agreement. Ron Brown, vice president of marketing, assumed his responsibilities. "Rob's efforts resulted in an increased corporate focus on eFax services," said Rudy Prince, chief executive officer of eFax.com. "We are grateful for his efforts and wish him success."

Informix Corp., the Menlo Park-based database software company, announced Jean-Yves Dexmier will become chief executive officer and president effective July 16. Bob Finocchio, president and CEO since July 1997, will continue as chairman of the board. Mr. Dexmier joined Informix in 1997 as chief financial officer. He is currently executive vice president, Worldwide Field Operations.

Barton Faber, a venture partner with Atrium Capital in Menlo Park and a senior executive in the database marketing industry, has joined the board of directors of AdForce Inc., a Cupertino-based online advertising management service.

Nuance Communications, a Menlo Park company that sells speech recognition software for telecommunications transactions, announced it has been selected to the Red Herring 100, Red Herring magazine's annual list of the top private and public companies in the technology industry. Ronald Croen, president and CEO of Nuance Communications, said its customers include American Airlines, Fidelity Investments and Bell Atlantic. A list of the 1999 Red Herring 100 companies can be found at www.redherring.com.