For immediate release (Calgary, AB Canada)
February 2,  2000
 

Calgary, AB  (Feb. 2, 2000) Zi Corporation (NASDAQ: ZICA) (TSE: ZIC) today announced it has received subscriptions for a private placement in the amount of US$25 million.  Under the agreement, Zi will issue 1.25 million units at US$20.00 with each unit composed of one common share and three quarters of one common share purchase warrant.  Each full warrant may be exercised for 24 months following payment of US$22.75 in the first 12 months and US$24.50 in the following 12-month period.  Pricing for the issue was fixed January 20 at the average market price for that trading day.  The placement was oversubscribed and is expected to close in the next few days.

“We are reviewing some exciting acquisition opportunities and may need cash to execute them quickly,” says Michael Lobsinger, chairman and CEO of Zi Corporation.  “Our subsidiary, Ozlearning.com, is the largest education web portal in China with an audience of 15 million teachers and students and we must build on that success.  Additionally, our embedded software segment currently supports text input for over 15 world languages and we are continuing to develop the product lines and capacity in that business.” 

Zi’s investment banker, Lehman Brothers, placed the offering with a total of eight institutions in Canada and the United States over an eight-day period.  The placement supports Zi’s on-going effort to expand its investor base to include a more significant institutional component and provides funds for growth opportunities.

Zi Corporation is a leading provider of embedded software technology and educational products.  The company’s eZiText™ input software is licensed in numerous languages for information and Internet appliances such as mobile phones, PDAs and TV set-top boxes.  Zi’s common shares trade on both the Toronto Stock Exchange (ZIC) and the NASDAQ stock market (ZICA).  Zi markets its technology through strategic partnerships worldwide from offices in Calgary, Beijing, Hong Kong, Stockholm and San Francisco.

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The information in this press release is based on Zi Corporation’s current expectation and assumptions, and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated.  Such risks include, among others, general business and economic conditions and competitive actions as well as the risks and uncertainties referred to in Zi Corporation’s 20-F for the most recent calendar year.

For further information, please contact: 

Karen Attwell 
Manager, Investor/Media Relations 
Phone: (403) 233-8875 
Email: investor@zicorp.com
Web site: http://www.zicorp.com/