Pyramid Technology Ventures is the lead investor in the round

June 19, 2001

2 Min Read

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Luminous Networks today announced the completion of an $80 million equity financing round, one of the largest private equity financings this year in the telecommunications equipment sector. This significant investment round indicates strong investor support for Luminous' carrier-class optical Ethernet platform, which provides carriers with toll-quality voice and circuit services, as well as packet-based voice, data and video services for high-growth metropolitan area networks. This financing provides Luminous with working capital for manufacturing its PacketWave(TM) products, now shipping to major U.S. and international carriers. In addition, Luminous will use proceeds to expand its sales and customer service resources, and to further accelerate product development. Total equity investment in Luminous now exceeds $148 million. Pyramid Technology Ventures, with offices in the U.S. and Europe, is the lead investor in the round. Significant new venture capital and cross-over equity investors include C.E. Unterberg Towbin Advisors, CIT Venture Capital, Crown Advisors, Easton Hunt Capital Partners, Firsthand Capital Management, Inc., Kingdon Capital Management, Pacific Venture Group, and Sternhill Partners. New strategic investors Hakuto Co., Ltd. and Samsung Corp. provide Asia-Pacific market opportunities. Existing Luminous investors in the financing include Doll Capital Management (DCM), DynaFund Ventures, Morgan Stanley Venture Partners, and Vanguard Venture Partners, as well as strategic investor Scientific-Atlanta, which has a development and OEM relationship with Luminous. Robertson Stephens acted as placement agent for the financing. "The scope and magnitude of this investment is a strong endorsement of Luminous' unique strategic value as carriers build out packet-based fiber optic networks in metropolitan areas," stated Alex Naqvi, president and CEO of Luminous Networks. "Luminous is fast emerging as a leader in providing resilient packet ring technology for MANs, that also carries toll-quality voice services and provides carrier-class resiliency." Luminous Networks Inc.

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