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January 15, 2001
Semiconductor Start-Up Attracts
$11.5M in First-Round Financing
Austin Ventures and Granite Ventures Lead the Investment
Austin, Texas (January 15, 2001) -- Layer N Networks, a semiconductor
company developing solutions for the networking and communications
industry, today announced that it has raised $11.5 million in its
first round of funding, with primary participation from Austin Ventures
and Granite Ventures. The company has developed an architecture
that will capitalize on a key trend occurring in the industry: the
ongoing and increasing need for security as the public Internet continues
its evolution.
“As the Internet continues its uncharted path into the future,
there is universal agreement that security will not only be desired,
it will be a necessity,” said Mike Salas, co-founder and CEO
of the Company. “Layer N Networks is a company whose vision
is to enable security to be seamlessly and efficiently embedded within
the entire Internet infrastructure. This will be accomplished
by developing silicon-based, security-oriented solutions that address
the unique needs demanded by the networking and communications system
companies. The Company is proud to have Austin Ventures and
Granite Ventures as partners in this exciting initiative.”
“We are delighted to part of a company that clearly sees a way
to unleash the untapped potential the Internet has to offer and whose
charter is to develop unique, differentiated solutions for an industry
that demands it,” said Stephen Straus, general partner at Austin
Ventures. “We clearly believe that security will be an
ever-increasing part of the future evolution of the Internet which
is why we are excited to be working with Layer N Networks.”
Board of Directors Also Announced
In conjunction with the first-round funding, Layer N Networks today
also announced the composition of its board of directors. Joining
Mike Salas and Stephen Straus will be Eric Zimits of Granite Ventures,
Jim Clardy (former founder and CEO of Crystal Semiconductor), and
Ralph Bennett (former founder of PMC-Sierra, RSA Data Security, Mitel
Semiconductor, and others).
“Not only are we excited to have Stephen [Straus] and Eric [Zimits]
be active participants in our company,” said Salas, “we
are also privileged to have people of the caliber of Jim Clardy and
Ralph Bennett on our board. Jim [Clardy] is well known here
in Austin and has been an invaluable part of other successful start-up
companies in the past. Ralph [Bennett] brings a unique perspective
to the company due to his experience in starting both PMC-Sierra,
a leading provider of networking solutions, and RSA Data Security,
a leading provider of security software solutions.”
“Having been in the unique position of being involved with companies
both in the networking and security industries,” said Bennett.
“I am a firm believer that embedding security within the entire
Internet infrastructure will open up possibilities that people cannot
even imagine today. Therefore, I share Layer N’s vision
of the future and I am excited to be part of the Layer N team.”
About Layer N Networks
Layer N Networks is an Austin, Texas based fabless semiconductor company
whose vision is to revolutionize the development and implementation
of Internet applications by building a new class of integrated circuits.
These solutions will capitalize on two key emerging trends occurring
in the networking and communications industry: the evolution towards
a data-centric infrastructure model where intelligent services can
be applied and the ongoing and increasing need for security as the
Internet continues its evolution into the future.
Layer N Networks was founded in March, 2000 by a veteran team from
companies such as PMC-Sierra, IBM, and Texas Instruments, and has
received funding from Austin Ventures, Granite Ventures, Seed Company
Partners, Agave Capital, and other key individual angels. For
more information, goto: www.LayerN.com
About Austin Ventures
Austin Ventures has grown from a 1979 startup to the largest venture
capital firm in the Southwest. With more than $1.6 billion of
capital under management, Austin Ventures is the third largest venture
capital firm in the U.S. Austin Venture’s focus on companies
in Texas and the Southwest reflects its confidence in the economic
growth of the region and recognition that it can add the most value
in situations in which it is closest. For more information,
go to: www.austinventures.com
About Granite Ventures
Granite Ventures, LLC, formerly H&Q Venture Associates, LLC is
a leading independent early-stage high tech venture capital firm with
over $465M in capital under investment. Granite Ventures was
formed in July 1998 as an independent venture capital firm spun out
of Hambrecht & Quist, now Chase H&Q, one of the nation’s
leading investment banks focused on the technology industry.
The firm manages corporate funds with technology industry leaders
Adobe Systems Incorporated and Texas Instruments Incorporated.
These corporate partners add world-class expertise in the areas of
software, communications, and the Internet, Granite’s main areas
of investment. For more information, go to: www.granitevc.com
For More Information Contact:
Robert Durand
Manager of Corporate Communications
12401 Research Blvd., Bldg Two, Suite 275, Austin TX 78759
Tel: 512-250-2129 x132
FAX: 512-250-9068
press@LayerN.com
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©
Copyright 2005 Granite Ventures, All Rights Reserved |
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