LookSmart CEO Presents at Chase H&Q Technology Conference; Search Infrastructure Company Highlights Strong 1Q Results and New High-Growth, High-Margin Revenue Streams

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2000--LookSmart (Nasdaq:LOOK) chairman and CEO, Evan Thornley, presented at the Chase H&Q Technology Conference in San Francisco yesterday. Thornley's speech focused on both the strengths of LookSmart's 1Q results as well as on new high-growth, high-margin revenue streams.

Key highlights from 1Q include:

• $134.7 million in cash, enough to reach profitability.
  
  
• Accelerated estimates to operating profitability before non-cash items to 2Q '01.
  
  
• Number one company in search infrastructure revenue for the fourth straight quarter.
  
  
• Revenues were up 16% from 4Q '99 to 1Q '00.
  
  
• Advertising yields were up despite the seasonal softness of 1Q from $15.80 to $16.31 CPM. Many leading advertising sellers saw yields diminish in 1Q '00.
  
  
• Global focus continues with LookSmart's joint venture with BT, BT LookSmart, and the development of 30 international directories.
  
  
• Other platform development: broadband, WAP (wireless application protocol).
  
  

Thornley spoke about the massive distribution channel that LookSmart has created through its extensive partnerships. LookSmart's search solutions reach over 52 million unique users each month–74 percent of all Internet users in the United States–through LookSmart's properties and partners' sites.

Thornley also focused on the high-growth, high-margin new revenue stream opportunities in LookSmart's eCommerce/distribution business. In particular, two new business products were highlighted:

• Express Listings: Owners of quality Web sites can pay LookSmart a fee to be reviewed immediately and considered for inclusion in the directory.
  
  
• Sub-site Listings: Owners of quality Web sites can pay LookSmart to build out additional links to their specific sub-site pages.
  
  

"These new directory listings products diversify and enhance LookSmart's revenue streams at low incremental cost, adding to the strength of our current gross margins," said Thornley. "Our vision is to leverage our huge distribution channel and provide highly qualified leads for merchants and eCommerce sites while also enhancing the richness of the search experience for users."

Thornley's presentation will be available next week on the Web at http://www.looksmart.com/aboutus/investor/.

About LookSmart
LookSmart (Nasdaq:LOOK) is the global leader in Internet search infrastructure, dedicated to helping the world find useful information quickly. LookSmart's search service reaches over 52 million people a month -- 74 percent of all Internet users in the U.S. -- through LookSmart's Web properties and partner sites. LookSmart provides its search solutions to leading Internet portals, ISPs and Web sites including The Microsoft Network, Netscape Netcenter, Time Warner Inc., Excite@Home, Sony, BT, Road Runner, Prodigy, US West, AltaVista, NetZero, over 370 Internet service providers and thousands of Web sites. LookSmart's search solutions include a collection of over 1.8 million high-quality URLs organized into more than 170,000 categories. LookSmart has built Web directories for 30 countries, including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Brazil. Through its partnership with Cox Interactive Media, LookSmart also offers one of the largest collections of quality local Web content in more than 70 U.S. markets. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and can be contacted at 415/348-7000 or visited at www.looksmart.com.

CONTACT: LookSmart
Lillian Lee, 415/348-7555 (Investors)
llee@looksmart.net

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