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Dr. William New Named Entrepreneur-In-Residence At The Aurora Funds

Seasoned Educator, Engineer, Entrepreneur and Physician Will Relocate to Research Triangle Park, Taking More Active Role with Portfolio Companies

Research Triangle Park, N.C. (November 13, 2003) – The Aurora Funds, one of the leading early stage venture capital firms in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, announced today that Dr. William New has been named as the firm’s first Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Earlier this year, New joined Aurora as a Special Venture Partner for Aurora Ventures IV, the firm’s latest $85 million fund.
 
“I think that Aurora is better poised for continued success than most early-stage seed funds, in a geographic region that is especially ripe for entrepreneurial growth and success,” said New. “I believe that startups will have a significant role in the economic recovery of this region. I look forward to helping kick-start that growth and recovery as Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Aurora.”

New brings more than 40 years of experience, encompassing careers as an engineer, physician, entrepreneur and educator. He most recently served as the Associate Dean for Bioengineering, Oregon Graduate Institute, at Oregon Health & Sciences University. He will continue to serve as Chairman of publicly traded Natus Medical Inc. (www.natus.com), which he founded in 1989. In 1981, New founded and served as Chairman of Nellcor Incorporated, a medical electronics manufacturer, which he sold for $2 billion in 1995. Prior to pursuing his entrepreneurial endeavors, he spent 25 years as a Clinical Associate Professor for the Department of Anesthesia at Stanford University School of Medicine. He also spent 12 years as an electronic and development engineer. New is the author of 15 patents, including the Pulse Oximeter, a device now used in 90% of operating rooms to monitor oxygen and perfusion levels in anesthetized patients.

“I am thrilled to have Dr. New kick off our Entrepreneur-In-Residence program here at Aurora,” said Jeff Clark, Managing General Partner of The Aurora Funds. “He brings a unique blend of talent and experience that will enable us to invest more aggressively, and more successfully, in young companies. We know that our entrepreneurs can learn from Dr. New’s experience, minimizing their own learning cycles and accelerating their companies’ growth.”

New, who currently resides in Oregon is relocating to Research Triangle Park (RTP), NC. Having earned a MD from Duke University School of Medicine, New looks forward to renewing his ties to the RTP community. In addition to his MD from Duke, New earned a MS in Management from Stanford University Graduate School of Business; a PhD in Physiology from the University of California; a MS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford; and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Stanford.
 
About The Aurora Funds
The Aurora Funds is a seed and early-stage venture capital firm providing capital, connections and strategic help to entrepreneurs with early stage life science and information technology companies. Since its inception in 1994, Aurora has invested in over 40 companies.  Aurora’s investment team members have over 35 years of combined venture capital experience and over 40 years of high technology operational experience. Aurora’s breadth of venture capital investment and operational experience enables the firm’s active approach to working with entrepreneurs to help build successful companies.  The firm is investing out of its recently closed fourth fund of $85 million, and has over $155 million of total capital under management. 

Aurora typically invests in seed and first round financing opportunities. The firm’s initial investment size ranges from $50,000 in a seed investment to as much as $2.0 million in a first round financing. The firm has the capacity to invest between $4 million and $7 million throughout the life cycle of an investment. More information is available at www.aurorafunds.com.

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Contact:
Shawn Ramsey-Kroboth
SRK Communications (for The Aurora Funds)
919-621-0737
shawn@srkcommunications.com

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