Akara secures $30 million in second round
Telecommunications equipment maker Akara announced Monday that it reaped $30 million of funding for its second round. Canadian venture capital firm VenGrowth led the round followed by Corning Innovation Ventures, a unit of optical fiber maker Corning, along with Dain Rauscher Wessels Morgan Keegan, Presidio Venture Partners and Sumitomo. Battery Ventures and Greylock Partners led the $17 million first round, which was completed in May of last year, but also contributed to Akara's second round. Telecommunications carriers buy Akara's optical equipment and mostly place it in the communications network of their business customers. The Ottawa, Canada-based company's box comprises a services platform and a services manager that aggregates traffic coming from the business then sends it to the carrier's network. The equipment also receives incoming optical traffic off a carrier's network and transmits it to its final destination within the business such as a storage network, computer or a phone.
Telecommunications carriers buy Akara's optical equipment and mostly place it in the communications network of their business customers. The Ottawa, Canada-based company's box comprises a services platform and a services manager that aggregates traffic coming from the business then sends it to the carrier's network. The equipment also receives incoming optical traffic off a carrier's network and transmits it to its final destination within the business such as a storage network, computer or a phone.