Short Take: Top Layer wins $25.7 million

Westboro, Mass.-based start-up Top Layer Networks, a maker of application switching hardware and software, announced it has received $25.7 million in a fourth round of financing. Contributors to the company's latest round include 3Com, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Brad Peery Capital, along with previous investors. Top Layer, founded in 1997, shipped its initial products for revenue in July of last year and now has 140 employees and 92 customers, according to the company.