Features - Storage Innovations:

DATA SHARING COMPANY CORIGIN ABOUT TO COMPLETE $5M 1ST ROUND

Israel start-up Corigin, which specializes in data sharing solutions, is in the advanced stages of a $5 million financing round, Corigin VP sales Ami Zuaretz told "Globes". Zuaretz said his company was in advanced negotiations with a number of Israeli funds and US investors. He also noted the company was negotiating with eight British companies to install its system. Corigin recently signed a distribution agreement with Hitachi Data Systems of Britain, under which Hitachi will distribute Corigin's solutions to its customers as an addition to its own storage management product line. Corigin has developed a product facilitating rapid direct access to mainframe databases from open systems, such as WIN2000, NT, and UNIX. The product uses a direct link to an enterprise's information storage system.

The uniqueness of Corigin's system is that its product is not on the mainframe; it is between the server and the storage switch, with a broadband link. The system itself implements the entire data mining process without using the mainframe engine, and thereby avoids an unnecessary burden on the system. Corigin's customers include leading banks and financial institutions, such as AXA Financial Services of the US and The First International Bank of Israel.

Corigin's headquarters and development center are located in Or Yehuda, while its sales and technical support offices are in Boston and London. The company has 15 employees, including three overseas. Corigin began working on its current product line in late 1999.

Corigin, founded in 1995, changed its strategy, management, and name this year. Corigin CEO Yoram Kariv currently heads the company, having replaced founder Tsvi Misinai. The company, which has hitherto relied on investments from its own sources, including Misinai, is now obtaining its first external financing.