Media Experience With Integrated Internet Portal, Production
Studio, and Press, Launching in Late 2000
SAN FRANCISCO – June 22, 2000 – Joe Firmage of Intend Change and Ann
Druyan of Carl Sagan Productions announced today the formation of a historic
joint venture, code-named Project Voyager (www.ProjectVoyager.com). The
agreement will result in a new kind of media network that intends to transform
entertainment and learning drawn from the rapidly expanding knowledge base of
science. The company is building the media network in alliance with a select
group of science, education, Internet, studio, content, technology, and finance
partners. Project Voyager has accepted seed investments totaling $23 million,
led by SOFTBANK Venture Capital and supported by Crosspoint Ventures. The
company’s name will be introduced this autumn and is scheduled to launch
globally in late 2000.
“The rise of the Internet has joined advancing tools of visualization and
interaction to make new experiences and services possible for individuals
across a borderless planetary community,” said Joe Firmage. “Soon, wireless
devices fitting in the palm of a child’s hand will speak and understand spoken
words, providing instant access to a universe of learning, adventure and
community for every mind. We are building a remarkable company made up of
talented and skilled professionals who hope to address an audience of people in
search of meaningful experiences and knowledge.”
“Carl Sagan, and those of us privileged to work with him, demonstrated that
there is a world-wide appetite for compelling entertainment that reflects our
deepening understanding of cosmic evolution and our place in its great story,”
said Ann Druyan. “The global success of these efforts, both critical and
financial, transcend every conceivable demographic of age, gender, economics
and culture. There is a hunger for myths, images and dreams that do justice to
our radically altered sense of who, where and when we are. . .And where we
might go and who we might become.”
With seed financing of $23 million led by SOFTBANK Venture Capital and
supported by Crosspoint Ventures, the company is rapidly developing its
Internet, Studio and Press teams. The Internet team is drawing from both
internal expertise and resources and a network of strategic partners to create a
living platform for online learning and discovery, entertainment, community and
commerce related to nature and science. In each of these areas, thoughtful,
user-minded functionality is being pioneered. The studio team has begun
production on original works for television and cinematic release in alliance with
studio and distribution partners. The press team will publish select works of
nonfiction, fiction, and art in concert with integrated learning and entertainment
productions.
Proven science, technology and media executives will lead the company. Joe
Firmage will assume a permanent role as chairman and CEO for the overall
enterprise, with headquarters in San Francisco. Prior to Project Voyager,
Firmage was chairman of Intend Change, a leading venture construction firm that
created a small number of large enterprises in 1999 and 2000, the last of which
is Project Voyager. Intend Change organized $250 million in financing for these
companies. Previously, Mr. Firmage was the co-founder and CEO of
USWeb/CKS, which pioneered Internet Professional Services, and became the
largest Internet consulting company in the world during his tenure. Mr. Firmage
writes and speaks frequently on issues of social, economic, scientific, and
technological transformation.
Ann Druyan of Carl Sagan Productions is assuming the role of CEO of the studio
subsidiary, with offices in Los Angeles and Ithaca, N.Y. Ms. Druyan is a
recognized leader in the world of science-based entertainment, having
collaborated with the late Carl Sagan on numerous projects including the Emmy
and Peabody Award-winning series COSMOS, the books COMET and SHADOWS
OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS, and the 1997 Warner Bros. motion picture
CONTACT. She was Creative Director of NASA’s Voyager Interstellar Message.
Most recently, she is co-author of Passport to the Universe, the first
presentation of the Rose Sky Theater at the new Hayden Planetarium in New
York City, which premiered December 31, 1999.
About Project Voyager
Project Voyager is the code name of an integrated media network that intends to
transform entertainment and learning drawing upon our knowledge of science.
The company is being organized by Joe Firmage of Intend Change and Ann
Druyan of Carl Sagan Productions and has accepted seed capital from
SOFTBANK Venture Capital and Crosspoint Ventures. The company will
announce its name in late summer of 2000, and expects to launch globally in
late 2000. Additional information will be released in coming months. Our
announcement is on the web at http://www.ProjectVoyager.com.
Contact: James Espinas, Project Voyager, jespinas@intendchange.com or
650-289-6657