Expand Networks Inc., whose technology helps make wide-area networks faster and more efficient, said Tuesday it has scored an $8.5 million funding round led by Intel Capital.
Founded in 1998, Expand survived the tech bubble early in this decade and brought on a long list of financial and strategic investors, including Vertex Technology Fund, Discount Investments Corp., Tamir Fishman Ventures, the Challenge Fund, Weiss, Peck & Greer, Time Warner Inc., Comcast Interactive Capital, Eurocom Holdings, Federated Kaufman Fund and RBC Capital Markets. It received $21 million in a round last year led by Vertex.
Expand didn't say which round Intel Capital is participating in or how much total VC money it has received, but it's sucked up a good amount of investment, as it closed a $9 million fifth round back in 2005.
The company makes so-called WAN optimization technology, which is key to running enterprise applications for workers in various noncentral locations. Expand sells its product as an appliance that operates transparently on a network and automatically tracks traffic patterns so that it can be quickly deployed without changes to network infrastructure. The product sits on an existing router or switch, or can be placed between network segments.
For the VC arm of Intel Corp. [INTC], the rationale behind the investment is much clearer, at least from a strategic standpoint, than some of Intel Capital's other recent deals. Expand is all about making it easier for a mobile work force to connect to the mother ship without overburdening a company's network, and Intel is all about providing the chips to enable workers' mobility. - Olaf de Senerpont Domis
See Aug. 26 press release on Expand Networks' latest round from BusinessWire
See July 24 post on three recent Intel Capital investments from TechConfidential .com
See August 2005 story on Expand Networks' fifth round from TheDeal.com
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