SAN JOSE, Calif., May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Mindmaker, Inc., a leading incubator of Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies and technology, today announced it is spinning off its Cygron Research and Development subsidiary into a newly formed company. Singapore-based Cygron Pte Ltd., has been formed and will operate as Cygron's worldwide headquarters. Cygron develops and markets business intelligence software, including DataScope(TM) Professional, its flagship data mining and decision support application, which recently won the "Best of Comdex" award for Best Personal Productivity Software.

DataScope is the first in a complete line of business intelligence and data mining tools planned by Cygron that bring powerful data analysis and decision support to the desktops of business analysts, managers, engineers, and scientists. DataScope Professional, for example, employs advanced techniques to graphically portray complex, multi-dimensional data, thus enabling users to make better business and technical decisions. The software is currently available in Asia; a U.S. launch is scheduled for late May 2000.

"We have seen significant growth in Cygron's marketing and product acumen in the past year, and believe it is ready to thrive as a separate company," said Jozsef Kiraly, President of Mindmaker. "By allowing Cygron to stand on its own, Mindmaker is fulfilling its mission to not only be a world leader in Intelligent Assistant applications, but also to incubate fast-growing AI companies that can reward its investors around the world."

The worldwide market for business intelligence software is predicted to grow to $4 billion (U.S.) by 2002. Cygron plans to impact this market by providing software that is powerful yet exceptionally intuitive. The company's goal is to provide analytical tools that are simple enough for non-expert users, a niche not currently filled by competing developers. Typical business intelligence applications include financial data analysis, customer relationship management, and retail sales analysis.

DataScope Enterprise, the soon-to-be-released corporate version of DataScope, will contain additional powerful features to support enterprise-level use. Further extensions of the DataScope product line are planned for release later this year.

"Cygron's suite of products deliver powerful tools to turn enterprise data into knowledge" said Roger Wolf, President/CEO of Cygron. "Through our association with Mindmaker, we have been able to design products which are intuitive and easy to use, at price performance levels not available elsewhere."

Cygron will partner directly with large accounts to solve their business intelligence needs, and will build relationships with VARs, system integrators, and specialized software development partners to address vertical markets.

Cygron has already completed its initial round of financing; however, Mindmaker has plans to retain a majority ownership interest in the new company. For more information about Cygron, interested parties should visit http://www.cygron.com, or call the company's Singapore headquarters at +65 425 2280.

About Mindmaker, Inc.

The mission of Mindmaker, Inc is to become the world leader for Intelligent Assistant-centric computing, by developing artificial intelligence (AI) enabled development platforms and a wide range of AI and Internet enabled applications. These applications are primarily Personal and Service Provider Assistants, for B2B, B2C and C2C applications. Mindmaker is also an incubator for AI technology companies: while developing technologies for Intelligent Assistant applications Mindmaker continues to identify key areas where the technology has business opportunities outside the assistant domain. Mindmaker nurtures these business areas until they can be spun-off as separate companies. Mindmaker has plans to spin off as many as four companies over the next year with others in the pipeline.

Mindmaker currently has over 150 employees worldwide. In addition to its corporate headquarters in California, Mindmaker has five subsidiaries, including two in Hungary, two in Singapore and one in the United Kingdom. Mindmaker, Ltd. in Hungary focuses its AI expertise on machine learning and reasoning technology and intelligent assistant product development. Cygron Pte. Ltd. in Singapore is the holding and headquarters company for Cygron Ltd. in Hungary which has core AI competencies centered on data-mining and decision support technology. Mindmaker Pte. Ltd. also in Singapore concentrates on the research and development of advanced multi-modal user interfaces. In January 2000, Mindmaker acquired 3F, Ltd. in Durham, England, with core competencies in natural language processing. Mindmaker's customers and development partners include Creative Technology, Ltd., Yahoo! Inc., Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products and Medtronic Ltd.

For more information, please visit the Mindmaker Web site at http://www.mindmaker.com.