In mid-December, boston.internet.com selected 20 privately held New England Internet companies we thought would make big news at some point in 2000. Even telling time by the Internet clock, we didn't have to wait long.

In the six weeks since the list was published, 11 of the companies have already made major funding announcements -- including five that have filed for initial public offerings. That doesn't count firms that have added significant partners or customers, or those that have big news pending.

To keep readers up to date on the blizzard of changes, we're updating the happenings of our 20 for 2000 companies.

20) Museumshop.com Inc., Arlington, Mass., www.museumshop.com

After wrapping up $3.1 million in first-round financing in November, this online commerce company, which at the moment offers more than 2,500 gifts from 32 North American museums, launched a marketing campaign, then flew across the Atlantic to do some shopping. The goal: agreements to sell products from significant European museums. The outcome: near complete success, with 15 Continental and U.K. museums having signed deals, which Museumshop.com hopes to make public later this month. That can only bolster this company's lead in selling museum products on the Net.

19) Yet2.com LLC, Cambridge, Mass., www.yet2.com

In early January yet2.com, not yet a year old and before it even launched its website (set to go live this week), closed on $20 million in financing from a consortium of venture capital firms and corporations. The company is developing an online trading floor where scientists and engineers can meet to exchange and explore technology licenses and intellectual property. Financial backers, who joined an already impressive list of corporate research giants registered to use the site, include Venrock Associates, 3i Group, The Proctor & Gamble Co. and Honeywell International. CEO Chris De Bleser is using the investment to launch an ad campaign, improve the website and double the company's number of employees to more than 60. Nice way to get out of the starting gate.

18) Direct Hit Technologies Inc., Wellesley, Mass., www.directhit.com

Back in December, this search engine firm became the second from "20 for 2000" to announce plans to go public, with a goal of raising $57 million. Then, last month, the company told the IPO market to forget about it. Instead, CEO Mike Cassidy announced that his company, famous for its "relevant" engine that finds the Net's most popular sites and is available to 7 in 10 Net users, had been acquired by the California search company Ask Jeeves Inc. (Nasdaq: ASKJ) for more than $530 million in stock. The deal made sense for both companies, since it will allow Ask Jeeves, whose users can ask questions in natural English rather than with keywords, to pursue more efficiently the corporate customers who form the search industry's hottest market. And for Direct Hit -- well, as Cassidy said with a smile, "We just went public a month sooner."

17) OneCore Financial Network Inc., Bedford, Mass., www.onecore.com

On Jan. 25, OneCore.com, which provides online financial services for small businesses, closed on a $30 million, third round of funding led by Century Capital Management, Paine Webber Group Inc., Merrill Lynch and Onex Ventures, with more cash coming from The Burtzloff Family Trust and an earlier backer, CMGI's @Ventures. OneCore.com has a suite of services that it calls an "electronic financial officer," helping small businesses manage finances -- bill payment, payroll, cash flow, 401(k) plan management, credit cards and more -- through one online account, while earning money market rates on operating balances. The funding news delighted OneCore.com CEO Jack Littman-Quinn, who said it would help the company double its staff, expand its client list and add services such as insurance and human resource planning. In addition, the firm has paired with eCongo.com, a Silicon Valley firm that helps small businesses set up e-commerce at their websites, allowing eCongo.com customers to set up OneCore.com accounts with ease.

16) MarketSoft Corp., Lexington, Mass., www.marketsoft.com

In mid-January this e-marketing software firm inked a deal with Allegis Corp., a San Francisco firm that makes software to help online businesses manage indirect sales channels. The companies will work together on accounts where MarketSoft's eLeads software, which helps businesses with sales leads, and Allegis' Sales Partner, which helps businesses with channel sales and marketing, can both be used. Analysts hailed the deal, since the combined products can manage the entire indirect sales channel process and boost sales. The company also firmed up its management team, promoting co-founder John Mandel to vice president of development, naming Michael Bauer as v.p. of product management and hiring Bill Price as CFO. Price, who has IPO experience, said MarketSoft, which in September got $15 million in second-round funding, is moving fast toward the public market.

15) edocs Inc., Natick, Mass., www.edocs.com

The big news from this company, which has developed an online billing system that slashes the cost of paying bills, came in late December, when GE Capital, a subsidiary of industrial giant General Electric Co., invested an unknown amount of money while also signing a deal to use edocs' flagship BillDirect software for its more than 100 million credit card customers. Then in late January edocs signed a customer contract with Optus Corp., a large player in the Canadian market of online customer relations. Both deals moved edocs closer to the center of the online billing world, as its customer roster is studded with other Fortune 1000 companies like American Express. The company, which last year raised more than $22 million in venture funding, has grown from 30 employees to 200 in nine months. And it recently added three execs, including CFO Phyllis Doherty, who has IPO experience and, as CFO, guided WebSpective Software through a funding round and $106 million purchase by Inktomi Corp. A company rep described a further bit of funding news as "imminent."

14) LavaStorm Inc., Waltham, Mass., www.lavastorm.com

This website design company, famous for developing the Mormon Church's family tree site, has spent the last months making good use of the $10 million it got last fall from venture capital firm Hummer Winblad. Last month LavaStorm moved from Allston into new digs in Waltham and opened a West Coast office in San Jose. It has been adding as many as 10 employees a week, with the aim of growing from 75 to 220 staffers, then start opening satellite offices in tech centers like Austin. Among the execs hired was CFO Lisa McAlister, who has plenty of CFO experience with Internet and health care startups. The company also launched this week a $1.5 million nationwide advertising campaign. The Storm is building.

13) Mainspring Communications Inc., Cambridge, Mass., www.mainspring.com

Here's another company spending its time spending -- in this case, using the $32.5 million it got in v.c. cash in November. The e-commerce consulting firm is tripling its employee base to 400 and is planning new offices in Chicago, New York and San Francisco. It has also redesigned its consulting service into three divisions: financial services, retail and consumer goods, and a new division for technology, communications and media companies. Among the new execs hired: George Pohle, formerly of Lucent Technologies, as vice president and managing director of the new technology division; Lee Spirer, formerly of Booz, Allen & Hamilton, as v.p. of the financial services division; Joe Gagnon, formerly a partner at Ernst & Young, as senior v.p. of e-strategy consulting; and Eric Pelander, a 20-year Ernst & Young veteran, as senior v.p. of consulting, overseeing all three divisions. New customers are lining up, and more financial news may not be far away.

12) Houston Street Exchange Inc., Portsmouth, N.H., www.houstonstreet.com

This firm, which operates an online platform for buyers and sellers of energy, has been developing a new product set for launch within the Houston Street website. Called SpeedWay, the new, streamlined system is designed for big wholesale traders, financial dealers who swap large chunks of power, mostly at peak-hour rates in urban centers, the way other financiers swap pork bellies. Added to the websites PowerPit trading floor, which offers more options and is frequented more by power trading companies like Enron, Duke Energy or Great Bay Power (Houston Street's parent), the company can now cater to both major sets of traders -- a significant advantage over competitors like Bloomberg and Enron's APX system. The SpeedWay system is scheduled to be ready later this month.

11) Bowstreet Software Inc., Portsmouth, N.H., www.bowstreet.com

Last week Bowstreet, which makes software to help large businesses and their partners develop business-to-business Web marketplaces, signed two new customers: MoneyStar, a financial software provider, and eframes.com, an online printing and photo framing company. The pair joins a list of Fortune 500 customers using Bowstreet Web Automation Factory to automate Web interactions with partners, customers and suppliers. MoneyStar will use Bowstreet to pipe customized packages of financial products, data and applications over the Net to its financial institution partners, while eframes.com will use the product to embed its Interent-based photo framing business on partner sites.

10) StorageNetworks Inc., Waltham, Mass., www.storagenetworks.com

This company seems to have found a unique niche in the data storage world, between the companies that sell hardware allowing dot-coms store data in-house and others that let them outsource all back office functions. StorageNetworks outsources data storage, and data storage only. So far, it's safe to say, the model is working. Last week the company got a staggering $103 million in a third round of funding, led by Dell Computer Corp. and Global Crossing Ltd. StorageNetworks wants to use the cash to boost its network of storage centers, which can hold about 600,000 filing cabinets worth of data, from 14 to 65, including facilities in Europe and Asia, while doubling employees to 700 by year's end. In a bit of understatement, CEO Peter Bell called the investment "a significant vote of confidence in our business model." Even with more than $200 million in hand, the company needs to raise more cash to continue its rapid growth, and a stock offering before 2002 is likely.

9) net.Genesis Corp., Cambridge, Mass., www.netgen.com

One of the list's IPO quintet, net.Genesis Corp., which makes Web analysis software to help companies understand and improve high-traffic websites, filed with for an initial public offering on Jan. 6. The size and price range of the offering -- expected this month, to be lead managed by Chase H&Q and Deutsche Banc Alex Brown and co-managed by U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray -- have yet to be announced. Net.Genesis is in a very hot space, making software that tracks website visitor behavior, then correlates that with other business data to help businesses and marketers target likely clients. Customers include Fidelity Investments and Charles Schwab & Co., while partners include IBM and the top Web ad firm, DoubleClick. This is an IPO to watch.

8) Zefer Inc., Boston, www.zefer.com

This Internet consultancy shook up the industry when, with barely a track record, it took in a first round of funding worth $100 million last May. CEO Bill Seibel's journey to taking the company public didn't take long; on Jan. 11, Zefer filed to raise up to $69 million in an IPO. Neither the proposed price range nor number of shares offered in the offering, to be handled by Credit Suisse First Boston, First Union Securities and Robertson Stephens, was disclosed. The company hopes to follow in the footsteps of Viant Corp. and Breakaway Solutions, two Boston-area Internet consulting firms that enjoyed successful IPOs last year. And it hopes the public will take to its model, which has traditional and Net firms develop dot-com strategies in intense 6-week training sessions, as well as private investors did.

7) eCredit.com Inc., Dedham, Mass., www.ecredit.com

This 6-year-old business, which can perform online credit checks in as little as eight seconds, in mid-January closed a $24 million round of financing, with contributions from Eastman Chemical Co., First Union Securities, Gateway Inc., Hambrecht & Quist, Hewlett-Packard, Mellon Ventures, Mitsui & Co. Inc., Vortex Partners and Wells Fargo. The company plans to use its cash to develop its Global Financing Network, which links buyers and sellers of credit and financing and closes transactions in real time, making credit and financing more accessible while slashing processing time. Deals with giants like Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Bayer and Fleet Financial Group haven't hurt, and more big business customers are certain to flock.

6) SupplierMarket.com Inc., Burlington, Mass., www.suppliermarket.com

Another company that's been putting a recent windfall to work, in this case more than $40 million received in early December from Fenway Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., among others. Supplier Market -- an 8-month-old firm that has developed an Internet marketplace to sell anything from complex machine parts to nuts and bolts for the $300 billion built-to-order manufacturing industry -- moved in early January into to a new, 40,000-square foot building in Burlington, where it has room to grow beyond the 75 employees now on staff. A few days later, Supplier Market announced a licensing deal with Cahners Business Information, allowing the New York business publishing firm to supply content for the purchasing and sales pros who use its site. This week the firm named four top execs, including COO Richard Feldt, a 25-year industry veteran formerly with Symbol Technologies, and CFO Brian Bethers, a 15-year vet who helped get Host Marriott Services listed on the N.Y. Stock Exchange. All systems are still go for SupplierMarket.

5) Eprise Corp., Framingham, Mass., www.eprise.com

Another IPO hopeful, Eprise, which makes software allowing Net novices to update company websites without the use of programming language, hopes to raise $46 million in a public offering. The deal will be led by Deutsche Banc Alex Brown, the same investment bank that helped the 2-year-old company secure $25 million in private placement financing in November. Eprise's high-profile customers include data storage giant EMC Corp., online grocer HomeRuns.com, and Sun Microsystems Inc. They've been attracted by the ability to empower employees the power to edit websites themselves, allowing programmers to focus on improving website design and security. And that should help the company's appeal with traders.

4) FairMarket Inc., Woburn, Mass., www.fairmarket.com

Fourteen months ago, Scott Randall and his Woburn online auction company were running nowhere fast as a destination site that was futilely competing against eBay. Then the company changed direction to become an auction infrastructure firm, running the bidding shops for portals like Microsoft, Excite@Home and Lycos while selling excess inventory for product makers like Dell Computer and CompUSA. Now, as announced in December, they're running onto the stock market to raise as much as $40 million in an initial stock sale to be led by Deutsche Banc Alex Brown. While Randall had to give up pieces of FairMarket along the way (21 percent to Microsoft, 15 percent to Excite, 18 percent to v.c. backer Sierra Ventures), the market is likely to provide enough to go around.

3) NerveWire Inc., Needham, Mass., www.nervewire.com

Flush with $60 million in cash, this company has the dual fortune of frolicking in the business-to-business e-commerce space, where it provides not just consulting services but e-commerce products that can be altered to suit its clients, primarily in the technology, financial services and pharmaceutical sectors. Late last month the firm announced that it had joined a partnership to develop a digital marketplace for cars ("the retail auto exchange"), allowing 22,000 U.S. retail auto dealers to find and trade inventory online, as well as order parts, check credit and manage sales leads. This week the firm named Kirk Arnold, former head of Computer Sciences Corp.'s giant consulting group, as COO. Arnold should help keep things humming along NerveWire.

2) Percussion Software Inc., Stoneham, Mass., www.percussion.com

Percussion banged out record revenue growth of nearly 16,000 percent over the last five years, making it the fastest growing private technology company in New England and number 16 in the United States, according to Deloitte and Touche. January was relatively quiet for the firm, which makes tools for Lotus Notes/Domino -- no mergers or acquisitions, no major SEC filings. The company has, however, announced several product upgrades. It has also been on a hiring spree as of late. It is hiring in all areas and is still advertising for a CFO a position that has been open since mid-December. Percussion had sales of $13 million in 1999. President and CEO Barry Reynolds says he won't be happy until it's a $50 million company. Look for Percussion to make some noise very soon.

1) OrderTrust Inc., Lowell, Mass., www.ordertrust.com

This 4-year-old firm, already well positioned to process sales orders for products bought over the phone or the Internet, moved last month into a third ordering channel: interactive television. And it got $15 million in cash, to boot. Liberty Digital Inc. of Los Angeles (a spinoff from John Malone's old TCI programming arm, Liberty Media Group), which is developing content for interactive TV, invested the cash when it signed OrderTrust up to process credit card orders from as many as a dozen interactive commerce channels that it's creating. CEO Jim Daniell called it a natural extension of OrderTrust's infrastructure network, which not only processes payments but checks inventory and tracks shipments. Other company execs described it as a key move as OrderTrust moves toward its ambitious goal: to process within three years most of the country's sales taking place over phone, Net or TV. If this company's not public by 2001, we won't deserve to write "20 for 2002."