Virtual network startup Benu Networks adds $17.5 million via two funding rounds

July 23, 2018

Virtual IP network service technology startup Benu Networks says it has raised $17.5 million via a pair of funding rounds of the past year. The most recent of the two, for $10 million, closed this month and was led by new investor Spring Lake Equity Partners. Existing investors Sutter Hill Ventures and Liberty Global Ventures led the prior $7.5 million round, the data of which was not revealed.

Lightwave Staff

Based in Billerica, MA, Benu Networks offers a Virtual Service Edge (VSE) platform that service providers can use to rapidly create and roll out new IP-based offerings for mobile Wi-Fi, managed business networking, managed home networking, managed security, and managed Internet of Things (IoT). The company initially focused on mobile opportunities and has been particularly successful in the WiFi arena with cable operators. Liberty Global Europe is a customer and a partnership with ARRIS has provided further exposure into that market segment, including a deployment at Mediacom Communications. Shaw Ventures, the investment arm of Canadian cable operator Shaw Communications, made a strategic investment in Benu Networks announced in January 2015.

However, investors seem to like the company’s prospects in other applications. “Benu Networks’ team and forward-thinking platform bring a superior value proposition to the service provider market,” said Dan MacKeigan, partner, Spring Lake Equity Partners. “We are particularly excited about its enterprise-grade managed security and IoT service for the small to medium business market.”

“The addition of Spring Lake Equity Partners together with the continued support from our longstanding investors, sends a powerful message to the market as a testament to Benu Networks’ momentum, architectural approach, and expertise in the industry,” said Mads Lillelund, CEO, Benu Networks. “These funding rounds provide additional fuel to fully capitalize on significant market opportunities, address concurrent, large-scale customer deployments more efficiently, and expand our overall market share.”

Benu Networks was founded in 2010. It announced $26.6 million in B funding in September 2013 and $27.7 million in “strategic” funding in 2014. Lillelund joined the company as CEO in November 2016 after leading Bluesocket, which ADTRAN purchased in 2011.

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