Infobjects is ready to take off

The start-up resulting from the INRIA has finalized the business version of its software ObjectDriver, in charge of “federating” databases, and expects to raise funds up to 16 million francs.

“ObjectDriver 2.0 is available ! Try it now”. This announcement on the home page of /www.infobjects.net/default/fr/html/Home.html"> Infobjectssite is the advantage that is put forward today by the start-up from Sophia Antipolis resulting from the INRIA and Cermics. “ We didn’t raise funds yet,the CEO, Eric Lebastard explains. In April 2000, when we started, the first business version wasn’t ready yet. Then, investors told us that they didn’t want to finance development.”Fund raising delayed by the e-krachInfobjects, which relies on many years of research on databases, was still able to go on. “ We have invested all of our savings. We’ve been helped by other searchers and by friends of ours,Eric Lebastard says. Thus, we managed to finalize the business version. It is available since early February, while early January, the company left the INRIA in order to settle in new premises, in the Puissanton Center, on the Vallauris side of Sophia’s park.Then, investors have been really interested in that software. Indeed, it has a great potential. ObjectDriver, allows to “federate” heterogeneous databases and to avoid a complete reorganization of information systems (after mergers and acquisitions, there are often many problems of integration of different and incompatible databases).The “product” which is already used by the Royal Victoria hospital in collaboration with McGill University of Montréal, in order to manage the whole data regarding Obstretic and Neonatal services, has been said by specialists to be performant. On the other hand, the Infobjects team has seduced investors during previous venture-capital summits in Sophia Antipolis. But the e-krach of April and the lack of the business version have delayed the fund raising. Now, Eric Lebastard expects to find rapidly the 16 million francs he’s looking for (contacts with investors are under way) in order to recruit and to allow the real take off.ContactInfobjects S.A., Centre de Puissanton, 3 sis, chemin de Puissanton, 06220 VallaurisTel : +33 - 493 644 870; Fax : +33 - 493 648 371Web site : /www.infobjects.com">www.infobjects.com