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"Blade" leader RLX gets $15 million

Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
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  • Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
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Stephen Shankland

RLX Technologies, a struggling company that pioneered the ultrathin "blade" server concept, raised $15 million in additional funds, the Houston company said Monday. Soros Private Equity Partners and Sternhill Partners led the investment round, while Cockrell Investment Partners joined for the first time. Other investors in the round include Ignition Partners, ComVentures and First Dallas Ventures. RLX's future strategy includes trying to build partnerships with software companies and a "major marketing campaign" in the fourth quarter.

RLX got its start selling a system that packed 24 servers with Transmeta processors into a 5.25-inch-tall enclosure. The design led to competing products from IBM, Dell Computer, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard, the last of which is the only company to release a blade server product so far. But RLX has struggled financially. Many executives left last year, and the company has diversified into Intel-based products.