nextier Networks Inc., a provider of data loss prevention technology, has emerged from stealth and is looking for its Series A round.
The company, officially founded in April 2007, has already raised less than $2 million in convertible notes from seed investors Archimedes Capital and Ecosystem Ventures as well as individuals, said Tarique Mustafa, the company's founder, chairman and chief technology officer. Mustafa declined to disclose the exact amount of funds raised so far.
nextier Networks' software performs a semantic analysis of unstructured data to ensure compliance with security policies. The core technology was originally envisioned as a semantic search engine, but Mustafa said he realized that there was a more urgent need for the technology in data loss prevention.
It is "highly likely" that the company will raise between $5 million and $8 million of Series A financing within the next three months. The company has already been offered two term sheets, but is in "no hurry" to close the round, Mustafa said.
nextier Networks also has received offers from corporate acquirers, but the board is "tilting toward growing the company," Mustafa said.
The company's products are currently in beta mode. General availability is expected in September, Mustafa said.
Mustafa also founded wireless infrastructure start-up Network Utilities in 1999. He also served as CTO of Andes Networks Inc. and a principal architect of Nevis Networks Inc.
The company will compete against data loss protection offerings from EMC Corp. and Symantec Corp. as well as venture-backed companies Code Green Networks Inc., Fidelis Security Systems Inc., Reconnex Inc., Verdasys Inc. and Vericept Corp.
Based in Santa Clara, Calif., nextier Networks has about 20 employees, Mustafa said.
www.nextiernetworks.com |
