What VeloCloud Cost VMware

A dive into some SEC filings shows that the SD-WAN startup VeloCloud wasn't really a unicorn. It's still a lovely show pony, though. Giddy up!

Phil Harvey, Editor-in-Chief

May 21, 2018

1 Min Read
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VMware paid a lot of money, but less than you might think, for SD-WAN startup VeloCloud. The price wasn't revealed at the time the acquisition was announced, but industry analyst Scott Raynovich, the man behind research firm Futuriom, did some SEC filing sleuthing and reports that price to be $449 million.

Raynovich, in his blog today, discusses the price and the implications of the price on the SD-WAN market as a whole, especially the dozens of privately held, venture-backed firms that are seeking some kind of exit in this white hot market. With no hard numbers to go on at the time of the sale, the new SEC filings also suggest that some in the industry might've been too optimistic about VeloCloud's growth rate.

Indeed, "if VeloCloud was close to a $100 million run rate in 2017, as it indicated to some analysts, neither the acquisition price nor the customer contracts disclosed as part of the deal back that up," Raynovich writes.

Here's a quick look at VeloCloud's highlights since 2014:

About the Author

Phil Harvey

Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading

Phil Harvey has been a Light Reading writer and editor for more than 18 years combined. He began his second tour as the site's chief editor in April 2020.

His interest in speed and scale means he often covers optical networking and the foundational technologies powering the modern Internet.

Harvey covered networking, Internet infrastructure and dot-com mania in the late 90s for Silicon Valley magazines like UPSIDE and Red Herring before joining Light Reading (for the first time) in late 2000.

After moving to the Republic of Texas, Harvey spent eight years as a contributing tech writer for D CEO magazine, producing columns about tech advances in everything from supercomputing to cellphone recycling.

Harvey is an avid photographer and camera collector – if you accept that compulsive shopping and "collecting" are the same.

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