Microlanguage gets $1 million in venture funds

By Fred O. Williams
The Buffalo News

March 16, 2003 - Buffalo, New York -- Microlanguage, a technology start-up in Amherst, has raised $1 million in capital to develop and market its computer search technology, the company announced.

Founded in 2001, Microlanguage's text searching techniques can be used for intelligence analysis and corporate databases.

The funding effort was lead by Spaulding Ventures, an early-stage investment fund with offices in Buffalo, Boston and Seattle.

The capital, some of which is contingent on future performance, will support investments in equipment and personnel, the company said. It positions Microlanguage to develop additional partnering opportunities for its "Thematix" search product.

"Having reached our goal, and, in the process, had our business plan validated, we can now focus all our energies on our core objectives of pairing Thematix with market opportunities," president and CEO Robert Fritzinger said in a statement.

The seven-person company is pursing opportunities in the homeland defense market. Microlanguage has licensed its search technology to defense contractor Raytheon Co., among other, unnamed partners, a spokesman said.

The company had earlier received commitments of $250,000 from the state Small Business Technology Investment Fund and $100,000 from Empire State Development. Housed in the University at Buffalo Technology Incubator, Microlanguage expects to grow to 53 jobs in three years.