Richardson Companies Dominate Venture Capital Investments for Second Consecutive Quarter
For the second quarter in a row, Richardson companies fared prominently in the DFW venture capital funding report for the 1st quarter of 2007 compiled by the Dallas Business Journal. In fact, 6 of the top 11 recipients have a Richardson address, and 64% of the $141 million in funding for the top 11 companies was awarded to local firms. Among the Richardson firms receiving the capital infusions were:
Tango Networks (www.Tango-networks.com) – Douglas Bartek’s telecom company enables companies to connect numerous mobile phones with the companies PBX, thus adding greater control and efficiency while reducing costs. Nortel and Motorola must think Tango is onto a good idea, since they were investors in the $25 million first round funding that Tango received. Tango is already over 50 employees in size and is located at 501 West President George Bush Highway (Custer Court).
Mavenir Systems (www.mavenir.com) – Mavenir has been flying under the radar screen, but that will soon change as a result of their second round funding of $20.5 million led by Austin Ventures and North Bridge Venture Partners. The company enables the delivery of voice, video and communication services on a variety of devices. Pardeep Kohli is president and CEO of the international company with offices in India and China which calls 1651 North Glenville Drive its world headquarters.
Ceterus Networks (www.ceterus.com) – Relocating from Allen late last year, this five-year-old company and brainchild of telecom veteran Bill Szeto is already well on its way with an announced $20 million fifth round funding from Aldus Equity, Sevin Rosen and ComVentures. Ceterus enables communication carriers to push more bandwidth down existing networks, thus giving their customers a quick return on investment. The company plans to nearly double its workforce of 40 employees this year and add to its star-studded list of customers which include AT&T, Verizon, Sprint as well as the Department of Defense, the Securities exchange Commission and a number of other federal and state agencies.
Navini Networks (www.navini.com) – Seven-year-old Navini, under the able leadership of ex-Nortel executive CEO Roger Dorf, was credited with seventh round funding of $16,942,161. The company is heavily in the WiMAX space, delivering broadband wireless services to individuals no matter where they may be and not confined to a particular building. The company has implemented more than 70 commercial networks on 6 continents. Not mentioned in the DBJ tabulations is the company’s own announcement on May 22 of an additional funding of $50 million led by Arcapita Ventures and Austin Ventures. Obviously, there is a lot of confidence that Navini is onto something very big. Navini is located at 2240 Campbell Creek Blvd.
InnerWireless (www.innerwireless.net) – InnerWireless, a STARTech company, is becoming a major part of bringing the healthcare business into the 21st century. The company is focused on taking its in-building wireless systems to hospitals and other medical facilities to improve efficiencies, safety and costs. InnerWireless was awarded its fourth round funding of $6 million by an investor group that included Sevin Rosen, Genesis Campus and others. Led by former fighter pilot and Texas Instruments alum Ed Cantwell, InnerWireless is headquartered at 1155 Kas Drive.
Voyence (www.voyence.com) – CEO of six years Susan Nash has done an amazing job of transforming this STARTech company into a going concern business. The company's solution, VoyenceControl NG, helps organizations drive down operational costs, increase availability, improve security, and demonstrate regulatory compliance. In May, Communications Solutions named the VoyenceControl as their Product of the Year. Voyence received a $2 million bridge funding in the 1st quarter.
These six remarkable Richardson companies not only demonstrate what a hot bed the city is for innovation, but they are also a reminder that the Telecom Corridor® remains the preferred address for world-leading communications companies.
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