Sentito Bags $28.5M, Hires ExecsSentito Bags $28.5M, Hires Execs

Sentito Networks closes $28.5 million in new funding; strengthens its leadership team with key senior executives

August 17, 2004

4 Min Read

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- sentitO Networks, a leading provider of open, standards-based VoIP switching and service solutions for global telecommunications service providers, today announced it has raised a total of $28.5 million in new funding. Today's announcement includes a previously unannounced, but recently closed, $19 million dollar Series C round led by Kodiak Venture Partners and a $9.5 million dollar Series D round led by Core Capital Partners. Today's announcement brings the total funding raised by sentitO to $53.5 million and the company will use the funding to expand sales and marketing initiatives.

sentitO's Open Network Xchange (ONX) enables global telecommunications service providers to immediately deliver carrier-class VoIP transport and services. The ONX and its patent-pending ElasticEdge(tm) technology provide an immediate competitive advantage to VoIP carriers by uniquely allowing them to deliver VoIP transport and services throughout their entire network. With integrated, SIP-based control of SS7/C7 Intermachine Trunk (IMT) and ISDN PRI links, and customizable XML scripting, the ONX delivers enhanced voice services across all networks.

"sentitO's ONX allows carriers to quickly enter and dominate new markets ," said Lou Volpe, managing general partner at Kodiak Ventures. "The flexibility of sentitO's platform is instrumental for competitive carriers in responding to market evolutions in voice-over IP. To that end, a strong syndicate of repeat investors indicates that sentitO represents a very promising technology and subsequently, a promising investment."

---In a separate release---

WASHINGTON -- Core Capital Partners, a $170 million private equity fund that invests in early-stage technology ventures and provides expansion capital to growth companies, announced today that it led a $9.5 million dollar Series D round investment in VoIP switching vendor sentitO Networks. The company's strong syndicate of investors includes Kodiak Venture Partners, Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds, Technology Venture Partners and Inflection Point Ventures. The funding follows a wave of market momentum stemming from Rockville, Md.-based sentitO Networks, including the appointment of an accomplished industry veteran as CEO. sentitO Networks has raised $53.5 million to date.

In June, sentitO announced that Dennis Chateauneuf, who has previously served as CEO for several telecom companies such as DTI Networks, CopperCom and Pelago Networks, would take the helm as top executive. In subsequent weeks sentitO announced new customers including Teleplanet Communications, and also launched a major interoperability alliance with eight noteworthy VoIP vendors. Among the key vendors that joined the alliance are BroadSoft, NexTone Communications and VocalData. This past July, independent venture capital research company Growthink Research named the company one of the "Top Emerging Companies" for the telecommunications and software sector.

"VoIP has fundamentally altered the telecommunications landscape," said Mark Levine, managing director of Core Capital Partners. "sentitO addresses intense carrier demand for cost-effective infrastructure solutions that enhance competitive advantage. The ElasticEdge(tm) technology provides carriers with a unique value proposition that bridges the gap between old and new infrastructure, providing unprecedented fluency between traditional voice and next-generation IP-based networks."

---In a separate release---

ROCKVILLE, Md. -- sentitO Networks, a leading provider of open, standards-based VoIP switching and service solutions for global telecommunications service providers, today named Rajesh Tyagi as Senior Vice President of Product Management & Customer Engineering, and Tony Zacher as Vice President of Manufacturing. As sentitO ramps its VoIP service provider customer deployments, Tyagi is responsible for customer-driven and carrier-grade product lifecycle management, testing, and customer engineering for sentitO's Open Network Xchange (ONX) solution.

Tyagi brings more than 20 years of in-depth experience in wireline, wireless, and optical networking businesses. Recently, Tyagi was Chief Strategy Officer & VP of Excieo Systems, and prior to that, VP of Product Management and Customer Service at Pelago Networks. Earlier during his 10-year career at Nortel Networks, Tyagi held a variety of senior leadership roles in its DMS switching and Optical Networking business units, managing multi-million-dollar R&D programs and multi-hundred-million-dollar revenue product lines globally. Tyagi holds a Master of Applied Science with Honors from University of Toronto and an MBA with Distinction from Schulich School of Business, York University.

Tony Zacher, who joins sentitO as its Vice President of Manufacturing, brings over 25 years of experience managing and implementing operational, supply chain and distribution processes across a wide range of technology companies. Prior to joining sentitO, Zacher served as Vice President of Operations for CopperCom, Inc. Before that, he served as the Vice President of Worldwide Logistics for Nortel Networks' Bay Networks division, where he was responsible for the sales and operational planning of a product line with $3.2 billion in annual revenue turnover.

"sentitO's success depends on its ability to focus relentlessly on its customers and provide them with products and services that surpass their expectations both from cutting-edge technology and ROI perspectives. Equally important is the ability to scale operations and inventory to meet the demand for our unique solution," said Dennis Chateauneuf, President and CEO of sentitO Networks. "Rajesh and Tony bring to sentitO proven track records in addressing the needs of service providers and both are outstanding additions to sentitO's senior management team."

Sentito Networks

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