The 10 Coolest Networking Startups Of 2016 (So Far)

Disrupting The Status Quo

A slew of networking startups emerged from stealth mode this year with leaders hailing from Cisco Systems, Arista Networks, Acme Packet, Big Switch Networks, Texas Instruments and Juniper Networks.

The majority of startups are striving to disrupt the networking industry with innovative offerings around automation, analytics, intelligent switches, low-energy Wi-Fi and Software-as-a-Service platforms. With software now key to innovation in the industry, network offerings in 2016 are being built around agility, speed and simplicity -- as software-defined networking and the Internet of Things are no longer simply buzzwords.

Here are 10 networking startups seeking to shake up the industry in 2016.

For more on the "coolest" of 2016, check out "CRN's Tech Midyear In Review."

Barefoot Networks

CEO: Martin Izzard

Barefoot Networks launched out of stealth mode in June by unveiling a programmable switch platform it touts as the world's fastest and most programmable series of switches: the Barefoot Tofino. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup says its Tofino switch chip can process packets at 6.5 terabits per second.

The company has built a software suite of tools for programming the Tofino switches, dubbed Barefoot Capilano, where customers write programs in open-source and then run them on Tofino.

Founded by Stanford University Professor Nick McKeown, CTO of Barefoot, and CEO Martin Izzard, a longtime Texas Instruments executive, Barefoot is backed by more than $130 million in funding, including from Goldman Sachs and Google.

Apstra

CEO: Mansour Karam

Network automation startup Apstra launched out of stealth mode in June with plans to automate data center operations. Its vendor-agnostic operating system, Apstra Operating System (AOS), manages data center networks designed to improve agility required for the cloud.

The startup says AOS is comprised of software agents that sit on top of each network device and can "massively reduce" total cost of ownership through vendor-agnostic automation that leverages the choice of hardware. The software will be subscription-based and available later this summer.

In statement to CRN regarding its channel strategy, Apstra's Karam said, "Because of the vendor-agnostic nature, AOS is ideal for system integrators and value-add distributors looking to add value by providing complete solutions to end users. Apstra is already engaged with partners, and plans to deliver its solution through a network of distribution partners, system integrators and resellers worldwide with a strong commitment to partner and customer success."

Karam was a former top executive at Arista Networks and Big Switch Networks. Apstra is being funded by David Cheriton, who co-founded Arista.

Mist

CEO: Sujai Hajela

Founded by former top Cisco executives, Mountain View, Calif.-based Mist emerged from stealth mode in June with plans to disrupt the wireless enterprise market. The startup says it has the first extensible, programmable micro-services cloud architecture for wireless and Bluetooth Low Energy technologies that can adopt to user needs.

Its cloud platform applies data science and machine learning to transform and ensure mobile user experiences for enterprises. The startup recently unveiled the first two services on its cloud platform: the Mist Business Critical for Wi-Fi and Mist's patented Virtual Bluetooth Low Energy location technology. Its Wave 2 802.11ac access points are available through cloud-based subscription services that provide enterprise network management and location-based applications.

Mist was founded by CEO Hajela and CTO Bob Friday, who are both formerly top Cisco wireless executives. The startup recently received $14.4 million in a Series A funding round.

Cloud4Wi

CEO: Andrea Calcagno

Channel-focused enterprise networking startup Cloud4Wi specializes in advanced guest Wi-Fi. Its flagship cloud-based services platform, Volare, is distributed through channel partners targeting large retailers, restaurant chains and shopping malls.

The San Francisco-based startup's over-the-top architecture allows brands to standardize each customer's mobile experience across all locations, regardless of the underlying Wi-Fi.

Cloud4Wi received $8 million in private funding this year.

Veriflow

CEO: James Brear

Backed by the U.S. Department of Defense, Veriflow says it can predict outages and breaches while providing SaaS revenue opportunities for channel partners. The Oakland, Calif.-based company emerged from stealth mode in April with $2.9 million in funding, touting that it can bulletproof networks by using a mathematical verification approach.

"We're basically fortunetellers. With our technology, we're going to be able to proactively predict what's going to happen on your network before it actually happens," said Veriflow CEO Brear, in an interview with CRN.

The startup's software applies principles it calls "formal verification" to discover ahead of time what could go wrong on a network, with a focus on high-level policy. By using that information, it helps companies apply policies to prevent problems from starting or spreading out further.

Versa Networks

CEO: Kumar Mehta

One of the hottest network and security startups, Versa Networks, is utilizing the telecom industry's network functions virtualization (NFV) technology to create what executives say is the first true software-defined security solution.

Founded by former top engineers at Juniper Networks, brothers Kumar and Apurva Mehta spent three years developing the company's software-defined WAN portfolio. Cupertino, Calif.-based Versa's flagship FlexVNF software includes a broad set of virtualized network and security functions with carrier-grade multitenancy, programmability, service elasticity and cost-effective deployment choices.

"We're trying to bring the innovative NFV concept from the telecom side to the software-defined security side," said CEO Mehta, in an interview with CRN.

128 Technology

CEO: Andy Ory

The Burlington, Mass.-based startup built a software-based, distributed routing and network services solution: the 128T Networking Platform. The company says its platform uses secure routing to simplify network architectures and provide fine-grained, end-to-end control and visibility without disrupting a customer's existing network infrastructure. The 128T enables delivery of applications and services across multiple networks – including address domains, security zones, firewalls and private-public boundaries.

128 Technology's CEO and co-founder, Ory, founded Acme Packet in 2000 and served as its CEO and president until Acme was acquired in by Oracle in 2013 for $2.1 billion. The startup has raised $36 million in funding thus far from investors including G20 Ventures.

Console

CEO: Al Burgio

Console, formerly known as IIX Inc., has an interconnection enterprise-grade software platform that provides a simple and secure way for businesses to directly connect to cloud and SaaS providers. The platform, also named Console, allows enterprises to bypass public internet and directly connect to a number of cloud providers.

The Santa Clara, Calif.-based startup recently appointed longtime Cisco veteran David Holland to its board of directors and nabbed $26 million in a Series B funding round led by Formation 8, along with technology investors Drew Perkins, Rajiv Ramaswami and AME Cloud Ventures.

Altocloud

CEO: Barry O'Sullivan

The Mountain View, Calif.-based networking startup offers a cloud-based customer engagement platform that combines predictive analytics with voice, video and messaging for businesses.

The startup launched its Altocloud Journey Analytic platform in 2015 with machine learning for real-time communications, which can now integrate with Cisco Spark – the networking giant's flagship collaboration solution. CEO O'Sullivan was the former head of Cisco's collaboration and unified communications business.

Kentik

CEO: Avi Freedman

Network traffic intelligence specialist Kentik emerged from stealth last June with its flagship network analytics solution, Kentik Detect. The SaaS solution offers real-time, actionable insight into traffic activity and DDoS attacks.

In June, Kentik unveiled enhancements to Detect including new multidimensional traffic analytics, flow visualizations and support for network performance metrics.

"Our latest enhancements illustrate the power of the Kentik platform to deliver analytics capabilities previously unavailable to anyone but web-scale giants," said CEO Freedman in a statement. "In 15 minutes, customers can get from registration to production use of big data analysis and streaming analytics-based approaches, with no appliances or software deployment required."