Starent Networks Secures $32 Million in Funding.Business/Technology Editors TEWKSBURY, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 12, 2001 Starent Networks Corporation, a leader in next generation intelligent mobile infrastructure solutions, today announced that it has completed a $22 million second round of equity financing Equity Financing The act of raising money for company activities by selling common or preferred stock to individual or institutional investors. In return for the money paid, shareholders receive ownership interests in the corporation. . This new round brings the company's total funding to $32 million, and was led by Matrix Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners and Highland Capital Partners Highland Capital Partners is a global venture capital firm with offices located in Boston, Silicon Valley, Geneva, and Shanghai. Since its inception in 1988, the firm has invested in more than 180 early and growth stage companies and taken a sector-focused approach to investing in . Starent Networks will use the funding to build and deliver an intelligent next generation wireless packet platform and to support the rapid growth of the company. "The ever-increasing demand for new applications and services creates the need for a highly flexible, adaptable a·dapt·a·ble adj. Capable of adapting or of being adapted. a·dapt  a·bil and powerful
network," said Ed Anderson, managing general partner at North
Bridge Venture Partners. "We believe they are developing a product
that addresses the unique needs of the evolving wireless services market
and network landscape."
Founded in August 2000, Starent Networks is led by veteran telecommunications Communicating information, including data, text, pictures, voice and video over long distance. See communications. entrepreneur Ashraf Dahod, whose previous companies include Applitek (later renamed LANCity), acquired by Bay Networks in 1996, Sigma Network Systems, acquired by SMC SMC Saint Mary's College SMC Santa Monica College SMC Solaris Management Console SMC Smooth Muscle Cell SMC Small Magellanic Cloud (also see LMC) SMC Safety Management Certificate (maritime shipping) in 1992 and NetCore Systems, acquired by Tellabs in 1999. The founding team also includes Alice Barber A barber (from the Latin barba, "beard") is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, give shaves, and trim beards. In previous times, barbers also performed surgery and dentistry. , Anthony Schoener, and Gennady Sirota - all instrumental in bringing to market many complex, industry leading products from companies such as Bay Networks, Motorola, NetCore Systems, and 3Com. "Starent Networks' mission is to offer the mobile operator significant service flexibility to meet the demands of their customers, and we are on the fast track to turning this into a reality," said Ashraf Dahod, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Starent Networks. "We have a progressive solution, which provides the service flexibility required to deliver enhanced voice and data services, or an integration of both. The financial investment in Starent Networks from our funding partners enables us to take advantage of the explosive growth in wireless services." Starent Networks has developed an innovative, Intelligent Mobile Gateway solution that connects mobile users to IP networks and mobile operators to their users, enabling data, voice and media services to wireless carriers. Unlike many products on the market today that have been designed for legacy applications and modified for the wireless market, Starent Networks has built this next generation carrier-class platform from the ground up, specifically to meet the unique requirements of the mobile environment. "Starent Networks has in place a seasoned team with a successful track record, and a solid strategy," said Andrew Marcuvitz, general partner at Matrix Partners and a member of the Starent Networks board of directors. "They are in a compelling market with strong growth potential." "Starent's platform enables 2.5G and 3G network operators worldwide to evolve their voice and data services to stay ahead of the exploding demand for enhanced wireless services," said Sean Dalton Dalton, city (1990 pop. 21,761), seat of Whitfield co., extreme NW Ga., in the Appalachian valley; inc. 1847. It is a highly industrialized city in a farm area. of Highland. "Starent's scaleable design and adherence to open interfaces affords carriers the flexibility to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. this customer demand in an integrated and economical way." About Matrix Partners Matrix Partners (www.matrixpartners.com) has been helping entrepreneurs build successful companies since 1977. In addition to Starent Networks, Matrix has funded other successful companies such as NetCore Systems Inc., Phone.com Inc., Redstone Communications, Sonus Networks and Sycamore sycamore: see plane tree. sycamore Any of several distinct trees called by the same name though in different genera and families. In the U.S. the term refers to the American plane tree or buttonwood (Platanus occidentalis), a hardy street tree. Networks. Andrew Marcuvitz, a General Partner at Matrix, is a member of the Starent Networks board of directors. About North Bridge Venture Partners North Bridge Partners (www.nbvp.com) is an active, early stage venture capital fund. In addition to Starent Networks, North Bridge has helped launch other successful companies such as Cascade Communications Cascade Communications was a Westford, Massachusetts based manufacturer of communications equipment. Founding Cascade was founded by Desh Deshpande in 1990, and was led by CEO Dan Smith. Product Cascade made a compact Frame Relay system. , New Oak, Sonus Networks and Wellfleet Communications Wellfleet Communications was an Internet router company based in Billerica, Massachusetts. In an attempt to more effectively compete with Cisco Systems, it's chief rival, it merged in October, 1994 with SynOptics Communications of Santa Clara, Calif to form Bay Networks in a deal . Ed Anderson, a Managing General Partner since the inception of North Bridge, is a member of the Starent Networks board of directors. About Highland Capital Partners Highland Capital Partners (www.hcp.com) is an early stage venture firm focused on building companies in the information technology, communications and medical markets. Highland has invested in and worked to create such firms as Altiga Networks, CheckFree, Lycos, MapQuest.com, New Oak, and WebLine Communications. Sean Dalton, a General Partner at Highland, is a member of the Starent Networks board of directors. About Starent Networks Starent Networks is a developer of next generation intelligent mobile infrastructure solutions. The Starent platform provides high-speed multimedia capabilities to mobile operators, facilitating the delivery of targeted services and a rich user experience. The privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. is headquartered in Tewksbury, Mass. with offices in Chicago. Starent Networks was founded in August 2000 and is funded by Matrix Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners and Highland Capital Partners. For further information visit www.starentnetworks.com. |
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