January 29, 2001
Investors express strong confidence in prospects of optical networking firm
Allen, Texas, January 29, 2001 – Xtera Communications Inc. (www.xtera.com), the optical networking company that is creating groundbreaking technologies for long-haul and ultra-long-haul optical networks, today announced it has completed its second round of financing for $110 million. With this round, the company has raised $133 million to date.
At a time when investors are being more cautious with their investments, this level of funding is a clear expression of the confidence that investors have in Xtera's ability to solve the critical problems of bandwidth and distance in the all-optical network.
"The strength of our Raman technology and customer-centric business model allows Xtera to partner with equipment manufacturers to deliver new technologies and features to carriers far more quickly than ever considered possible," said Jon Bayless, Chairman and CEO of Xtera. "With the financial strength and stability this funding provides for Xtera, we're in an ideal position to execute our strategic plan to deliver leading-edge products to the optical communications field."
The lead investors in this round were Rho Ventures and Star Ventures Management. Other new investors include CenterPoint Venture Fund and Berkeley International. Reaffirming their commitment to Xtera Communications with significant new investments were Communications Ventures, New Enterprise Associates, Sevin Rosen Fund, ARCH Venture, EDF Ventures and Hook Partners.
"Xtera offers high level product differentiation and a strong customer value proposition. Their intellectual property creates significant barriers to competitive entry," said Ben Terk, Principal at Rho Ventures. "This combination, coupled with management's broad-based telecommunications expertise and proven track record, will produce critical technology and products that enable major equipment manufacturers to be successful in solving the bandwidth needs of carriers."
Xtera is poised to debut the first of the products based on its patented Raman technology – the Xtera eXpander – at the OFC 2001 trade show in March. The first Xtera eXpander product will enable carriers to get double the bandwidth out of their existing fiber while realizing lower Gb/km costs. This milestone comes following a year that saw the company expand into its new headquarters in North Texas' telecommunications-technology corridor and complete the hiring of its management team.
About Rho Ventures
Rho Ventures is a New York-based venture capital firm with extensive investments in the technology, healthcare and electronic information sectors. Since it was founded in 1981, the firm has invested in numerous companies including Capstone Turbine, Ciena, Commerce One, Compaq Computer, Copper Mountain, Diversa, Human Genome Sciences and MedImmune. Aggregate venture capital under management exceeds $750 million. www.rhomanagement.com
About Star Ventures Management
STAR Ventures is a Munich-based venture capital group founded in 1992. Star focuses on early stage high-tech companies in Israel, Europe (mainly Germany) and the US, which are already active internationally or intend to establish international business activities. Target sectors are information technologies, mainly data-, tele-, wireless and fiberoptic communication, as well as software, medical devices and Internet infrastructure. STAR currently holds $840 million under management and has invested in 145 companies, 33 of which are traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange in New York, and the Neuer Market in Frankfurt. www.star-ventures.com
About Xtera Communications
Xtera Communications specializes in network infrastructure that delivers the highest capacity, reach and density. Our long-haul, Submarine, Metro and WAN technologies together with our deployment expertise drive customer success and long term value.
Xtera offers an extensive portfolio of Optical Transport solutions for long-haul, regional, metropolitan and sub-sea networks, and WAN Traffic Management solutions for both enterprise and telecom companies.
With deployments in four continents, Xtera’s Optical Transport portfolio helps service providers worldwide reach new markets via new deployments, and extends the life of their existing network assets with cost-effective upgrades. Xtera‘s innovative Traffic Management solutions offer customers the best price/performance in network optimization.
Xtera delivers compelling advantage to its customers by maximizing network capacity, reach and value.
For more information, please visit www.xtera.com