Inventory: 10 hottest Internet startups in 2021

2021 is a good time for IT startups. In the past two years, the network industry has learned some lessons, the technology development roadmaps of existing vendors have changed a lot, and startups have fully launched new technology trials. Network startups do not need to make drastic changes to start adopting hybrid cloud or fully cloud-based approaches. They are familiar with new ways of enterprise IT procurement, including subscription-based network service models.

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Some network startups have become the target of investment by large vendors, and some established vendors, such as Aruba Networks and Microsoft, have chosen to cooperate with startups because they have a new perspective on proprietary 5G, managed network products, and next-generation connectivity technologies. Some startups focus on filling the market gaps in consumer networks or managed networks, edge networks, next-generation data center networks, and secure access service edge (SASE), while using existing channels to convey various information about their new approaches to meeting network needs.

Here’s a look at 10 of the hottest enterprise networking startups for 2021, ranging from hybrid cloud-based products to managed network services to connectivity and 5G.

Alkira

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CEO: Amir Khan

Alkira, a cloud network as a service startup, came out of stealth mode in 2020 to offer a consumption-based Cloud Services Exchange (CSX) product, a unified on-demand product that allows cloud architects and network engineers to build and deploy multi-cloud networks in minutes. In addition, Alkira also announced a close collaboration with Microsoft's Microsoft for Startups program, a deeper relationship with AWS, and the inclusion of CSX in AWS's application market.

Alkira was founded three years ago and is headquartered in San Jose, California. In October this year, it received $54 million in a Series B financing led by Koch Disruptive Technologies. Its total financing amount has grown to $76 million so far. It will mainly enter the market through channel partners.

Aviatrix

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CEO: Steve Mullaney

Aviatrix Systems, a hybrid cloud networking upstart that has made a name for itself by providing visibility into complex, multi-cloud networks for enterprises that need cloud-native networking products that can support application access, said it believes that long-standing incumbent networking vendors will not win in the "new world" of IT environments.

Aviatrix, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, enters the market mainly through partners, especially those solution providers that are not tied to local environments. Aviatrix received $200 million in Series E financing in September this year, mainly for expanding global sales and supporting business development. Aviatrix's customers include VMware, Netflix and NASA.

Cato Networks

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Founder and CEO: Shlomo Kramer

Cloud networking and security specialist Cato Networks operates entirely through the channel, with cloud services integrating edge SD-WAN, a global network backbone and network security services.

Cato Networks, founded six years ago and headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel, raised its largest round of financing to date in October, with a total financing amount of US$532 million. The company currently has about 400 employees and is valued at approximately US$2.5 billion. In 2019, the company launched a global program mainly for partners including master agents, sub-agents, VARs and MSPs.

Celona

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CEO: Rajeev Shah

Enterprise 5G startup Celona came to the fore in 2020 with a platform that will make LTE and 5G a reliable and viable wireless option for enterprise connectivity. In addition to the platform, the two-year-old company also announced a channel program and a strategic partnership with Aruba Networks to resell Celona's cellular products.

Celona is headquartered in Cupertino, California, USA. The founding team members come from manufacturers such as Qualcomm and Cisco, and have experience in building chipsets, cloud software, Wi-Fi and cellular products. In March this year, Celona said that the company has been actively using channels as its main market route and has a strong partner base to make private LTE and 5G networks for enterprises a reality.

Infiot

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CEO: Parag Thakore

Edge networking startup Infiot came out of stealth mode in 2020 to launch a new edge networking and connectivity technology. The company is now offering a cloud-delivered intelligent thin wireless edge access platform that supports wired, wireless and cellular connections, which it says provides connectivity, zero-trust security and edge computing for remote users, sites and devices around the world.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Infiot was founded in 2018 by several veterans in the field of networking and SD-WAN, and received $15 million in Series A funding in 2020 from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Neotribe Ventures, Westwave Capital, and Harpoon Ventures. Infiot launched the ZETO remote access solution in January this year, a software client that combines zero-trust security and SD-WAN.

Pensando

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Co-founder and CEO: Prem Jain

Four-year-old edge computing startup Pensando Systems is about to bring to market a system based on a custom programmable processor optimized for edge computing that will power software-defined cloud, compute, network, storage and security services, transforming existing architectures into the secure, fast environment required for next-generation applications.

Pensando, based in Milpitas, California, raised $35 million in a Series C round of funding in August led by Ericsson Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures and Liberty Global Ventures, the global investment arm of Dutch telecom giant Liberty Global.

Perimeter 81

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CEO: Amit Bareket

SASE professional company Perimeter 81 was founded three years ago. It has previously focused on cloud-based networking and security. This year, it began to enter the SASE field. Its products can replace traditional and open source virtual private network products.

In February, the Israeli company said it hired Bob Kilbride as its first channel executive, moving from having 10% of its business done through channels to becoming a channel-first company. In March, Perimeter 81 launched a channel partner program for MSPs.

Prosimo

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CEO: Ramesh Prabagaran

Founded in 2019, enterprise infrastructure innovation company Prosimo has come to the fore with its Application Experience Infrastructure (AXI) platform, which will modernize and simplify application delivery and experience across multi-cloud environments. The Santa Clara, California-based company said the Prosimo platform can coexist with existing vendors in customer environments or can be used to replace certain tools and features, such as zero trust or cloud peering technologies.

The startup, which focuses on solving multi-cloud networking, security and application performance problems, raised $25 million in Series A funding and updated its platform in October to target multi-cloud applications in transit.

Rockport Networks

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Doug Carwardine, Co-founder and CEO

Data center network startup Rockport Networks came out of stealth mode in October this year and announced a new switchless network architecture that provides customers with the performance and scalability required for demanding computing workloads such as high-performance computing technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Rockport Networks said that its switchless product can shorten workload completion time by an average of 28% and reduce end-to-end latency by 3 times compared to traditional networks.

The Ottawa, Ontario-based startup has raised a total of $18.8 million in funding over four rounds.

Trustgrid

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Co-founder and CEO: Joe Gleinser

TrustGrid, a five-year-old company, provides a platform that combines SD-WAN, edge computing and zero-trust remote access, enabling operators and cloud software providers to manage and support distributed application environments from cloud to edge. Trustgrid said the platform allows users to manage and support hundreds of networks from a single interface.

The Austin, Texas-based company, which primarily goes to market through channel partners, revealed in February that its connectivity platform has expanded to include one in five banks and credit unions in the United States.