Despite the possibility of a recession and a general slowing of venture capital and private equity investments during the coronavirus pandemic, a local startup has landed the biggest funding round of the year so far.
Dallas-based StackPath, an edge computing and security-as-a-service platform, announced landing a Series B funding round led by router provider Juniper Networks and internet access and service provider Cox Communications. While the total amount of the Series B was not disclosed, StackPath previously landed a $180 million Series A round in 2016, when it emerged from stealth, led by PE firm ABRY Partners. According to a release, the company stated that the new funding brings the its total amount to about $396 million, meaning the Series B likely totaled about $216 million.
“We’ve laid the technology and operational foundation for StackPath to be the default edge-computing platform,” said Wen Temitim, CTO at StackPath, in a prepared statement. “Juniper and Cox join us at the beginning of the next phase of our strategy—which is to deliver more on our foundation and move it even closer to end users and devices.”
As part of the deal, Juniper Networks Senior VP of Strategy and Corporate Development Kevin Hutchins and Cox Communications Executive VP and Chief Strategy Officer Sujata Gosalia have joined StackPath’s board of directors.
StackPath was founded in 2015 by Jason Gulledge, Lance Crosby and Ryan Carter. Crosby serves as the startup’s CEO and has been on the forefront of computing technology, previously founding and leading Dallas-based dedicated server, managed hosting and cloud computing provider SoftLayer, which was acquired by IBM in 2013 for about $2 billion.
“Edge computing brings an evolution of network security and performance to the cable industry,” Gosalia said in a prepared statement. “It will give our residential and business customers access to the next generation of connected services and experiences by bringing valuable processing power closer.”
In its previous funding round, StackPath quickly began using the influx of cash to make a number of acquisitions in the cybersecurity industry, including MaxCDN, Fireblade, Cloak and Staminus, which rapidly brought new customers to its platform. With this Series B, StackPath plans to accelerate its growth of product development, engineering and go-to-market activities.
Last month, StackPath launched new software tools to help users build and manage edge computing infrastructure using open-source development tool Terraform. Overall, StackPath platform works to create a fast and secure cloud APIs and connections.
“Edge computing and edge-cloud functionality are critical as enterprises, service providers and cloud providers transform in the cloud era,” said Gosalia in a prepared statement. “In this new world, applications are increasingly dependent upon the network.”
StackPath serves more than 30,000 customers across the U.S., Europe, South America, Asia and Australia, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies. In a release, the startup said that the emergence of 5G technology is allowing for enhancements for its software and expanding its potential for growth.
