18 Network Technology Companies To Watch

Companies like VeloCloud Networks and Avi Networks are leveraging software to increase the reliability, efficiency, and security of data networks.

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Today, nearly half of the world’s population has internet access. As this figure grows, so too will the complexity of networks and connectivity. To keep pace, ongoing innovations in information technology are increasing the efficiency and reliability of these ever-expanding networks. Software-defined networking, or SDN, in particular, has changed the way information moves around the world.

Using the CB Insights Platform, we surfaced 18 notable network technology startups developing systems to increase the reliability, efficiency, and security of data mobility while reducing costs. These companies vary widely in their offerings, but generally leverage software to manage network functionality.

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These technologies range from comprehensive software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) solutions to automated load-balancing software (which improves distribution of workloads), among others. Examples include VeloCloud Networks, which offers SD-WAN solutions for enterprises, and Avi Networks, which offers load-balancing services. We selected these companies based on the recency and size of their disclosed funding and their Mosaic score — CB Insights’ algorithm that uses financial and non-financial signals to predict private company health.

Of the companies on our list, all have raised disclosed equity financing in the last 2 years – 2 are early-stage (Seed & Series A), 11 are mid-stage (Series B & C), and 5 are late-stage (Series D+). We have listed them in descending order of disclosed funding.

18 Network Technology Companies to Watch

Headquarters: Boise, Idaho

Disclosed Funding: $154.8M

Latest Round: Series C

Select Investors: Technology Crossover Ventures, Highway 12 Ventures

CradlePoint develops cloud-based wired and wireless WAN solutions for enterprises. In addition to providing connectivity and software, CradlePoint offers enterprise-grade router hardware to ensure network relability.

Headquarters: San Mateo, California

Disclosed Funding: $134.1M

Select Investors: Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, Third Point Ventures

Latest Round: Series D

Aryaka Networks provides SD-WAN and WAN optimization services for globally distributed enterprises.

Headquarters: Santa Clara, California

Disclosed Funding: $124.5M

Latest Round: Series D

Select Investors: Dell Technologies Capital, Index Ventures, Intel Capital, Khosla Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Silver Lake Partners, In-Q-Tel, Goldman Sachs

Big Switch Networks offers solutions for network monitoring and network switches, which allow devices to receive, process, and forward data to other devices. These switches can be programmed using their proprietary software.

Headquarters: San Jose, California

Disclosed Funding: $88.3M

Latest Round: Series C

Select Investors: Greylock Partners, Qualcomm Ventures

Unlike other companies on our list, Innovium designs high-performance chips for increasing bandwidth demands. With the growing adoption of video and artificial intelligence, Innovium provides switch silicon products that move large amounts of data faster at scale.

Headquarters: Mountain View, California

Disclosed Funding: $87.8M

Latest Round: Series C

Select Investors: Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Sequoia Capital, SV Angel

Cumulus Networks makes a Linux OS for networking hardware intended to optimize software-managed data centers delivered as a service.

Headquarters: Nashua, New Hampshire

Disclosed Funding: $83.4M

Latest Round: Debt (previously Series D)

Select Investors: Google Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Matrix Partners

Plexxi builds switches and applications for hyper-converged infrastructure (networks managed entirely with software) intended to simplify network automation, orchestration, visualization, and control.

Headquarters: Mountain View, California

Disclosed Funding: $83M

Latest Round: Series D

Select Investors: Cisco Investments, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, New Enterprise Associates, Telstra Ventures, Venrock

VeloCloud Networks provides cloud-based SD-WAN for enterprises. By offering SaaS-like subscriptions and pricing, VeloCloud has secured partnerships with AT&T and Sprint, among others.

Headquarters: Palo Alto, California

Disclosed Funding: $81.3M

Latest Round: Series C

Select Investors: Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings, Andreessen Horowitz, Dell Technologies Capital, Goldman Sachs, Google Ventures, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital

Barefoot Networks designs network switches that allow enterprises, large data centers, and telecom providers to introduce new functions and features without compromising performance.

Headquarters: San Jose, California

Disclosed Funding: $54.2M

Latest Round: Unattributed (previously Series D)

Select Investors: Menlo Ventures, Silver Creek Ventures

Talari Networks offers SD-WAN solutions for fluctuating bandwidth demands. By aggregating multiple networks, Talari ensures that WAN applications remain unaffected by network issues.