Engana raises $6M funding
September 26, 2005 Sydney, Australia -- Engana, a provider of wavelength selective switch (WSS) modules for use in reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) applications, today announced the closing of its $6 million Series B financing round. The company says the funding will allow it to continue its development of WSS and other key network submodules, and to grow its manufacturing and global marketing capabilities.
The round was led by new investor Starfish Ventures, together with previous investors Technology Venture Partners, DB Capital Partners (via its Ericsson-Deutsche Technology Fund), Intel Capital, and private investors. Founded in Sydney, Australia by Drs. Simon Poole and Steve Frisken, Engana says it targets the development of intelligent optical subsystems for next-generation optical communications networks.
"We are extremely pleased that these investors have chosen to fund Engana through this critical growth phase," comments Dr. Poole. "This round of investment will enable Engana to apply its programmable optical platform to the intelligent modules and subsystems our customers need for next-generation optical networks."
"We are very excited to be supporting Engana through the crucial next phase," adds Michael Panaccio, investment principal at Starfish Ventures. "The deep industry experience of the team and the strong technology position give us great confidence that the company is very well positioned to extend its leadership position in the optical subsystems market."
Engana says its product road map incorporates the development and manufacture of a range of products for next-generation reconfigurable optical communications networks. The company says that its products' functionality and performance are enhanced through the company's advanced software algorithms and hardware design, to enable powerful, highly flexible platforms. In particular, the company says its WSS has the ability to offer an arbitrary, remotely reconfigurable channel plan, which is compatible with 40 G systems, and includes integrated dynamic channel equalization. The company says its platform technology enables flexible and dynamic networking including remote provisioning.