Salira gets $17 million in funding

Salira Optical Network Systems, a maker of high-speed Ethernet communications equipment, has secured $17 million in second-round funding. The financing was led by Softbank Venture Capital and brings Salira's total funding to $23.9 million since its inception. Vertex Management and WI Harper contributed to the second-round funding. Although the overall funding market is down over the past year, some VCs have begun to invest in technology-related startups again. Optical communications technologies have been a hot area of investment for months. Salira will use the cash to continue its development of hardware for communications carriers that combines Ethernet and fiber-optic technology to deliver broadband data services.