Fortinet Gets $9M, Names Veeps

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Fortinet, the premier provider of network protection systems, today announced the completion of its second financing round. The $9 million round, which closed in May, 2002, was led by DEFTA Partners, a leading international venture capital group. Joining in the round were existing investors and several strategic partners, including Forval Creative, a leading distributor of network security products & services in Japan. "I couldn't be more pleased with our progress to this point," said Ken Xie, founder and CEO of Fortinet. "In just 18 months we've developed a powerful new technology, introduced and shipped a complete product line, built a strong team, and established an international presence. The additional capital we've raised will enable us to continue to rapidly expand our development, sales, and marketing efforts worldwide." "The rapid development and initial acceptance of the FortiGate product line is a testament to the scalability of the ABACAS architecture and the capability of the Fortinet team," said George Hara, managing partner for DEFTA, who will join Fortinet's board of directors. "We are always searching for companies that are bringing highly differentiated products to large, fast-growing markets, and Fortinet is certainly in that class. What really sets them apart is their consistent ability to innovate and execute while carefully managing their resources. Fortinet's experienced team has delivered unique and proven products to a competitive and demanding market, and has earned enthusiastic responses from its customers. We expect that Fortinet will be a major player in the network protection market in the years ahead and are excited to be on the team." In a separate release: SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Fortinet, the premier provider of network protection systems, today announced the addition of two industry veterans to its management team. Fortinet announced the appointment of Tricia Chu as vice president of finance and administration, and also announced the appointment of Richard Kagan as vice president of marketing. The two executives bring extensive experience to the founding team led by Ken Xie, founder and CEO of Fortinet, who was also founder and CEO of NetScreen, the noted supplier of firewall appliances. In a related announcement, the Company also announced today the completion of its second round financing (see companion release, "Fortinet Announces Second Round Financing of $9 Million"). "I'm delighted that Tricia and Richard have joined the Fortinet team," said Ken Xie, founder and CEO of Fortinet. Xie continued, "We are building an important new player in the network protection market, and with these two top executives on board we have the management horsepower that we need to realize our vision." Tricia Chu joined Fortinet from AltiGen Communications (NASDAQ: ATGN), where as vice president of finance and administration she played a key role in their successful IPO in 1999. Richard Kagan, vice president of marketing, previously served as vice president of marketing with NARUS, and also served as vice president of marketing for VPNet, the industry-leading VPN gateway company that was purchased by AVAYA (NYSE: AV) in 2001. Fortinet Inc.