Israeli start-up Axerra Networks announced today it has completed a $10 million financing round. European fund TLcom Capital Partners led the round, with a $5 million investment. The rest of the money came from Axerra's existing investors Yehuda and Zohar Zisapel, RAD Ventures, Japan Associated Finance Co. (JAFCO), Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Private Equity, HarbourVest Partners, Garage Technology Ventures and Garage VP venture finance Gideon Marks.
Axerra has developed a MsolP (multi-service over IP) product that enables old and new communications providers to offer older and existing services on advanced IP networks.
Axerra was founded three years ago by CEO Gil Biran. Sales in 2001 totaled $2.5 million through OEM agreements. Biran says sales, including some direct sales, exceeded $2 million in the first half of 2002. Axerra has an OEM agreement with Ericsson (Nasdaq:ERICY), and cooperation agreements on projects with Cisco Systems (Nasdaq:CSCO) and Extreme Networks (Nasdaq:EXTR). The company also sells through local integrators in various countries.
Biran added that the company would not utilize the proceeds from the current financing round until 2003, and would use the $16 million raised in its previous round in August 2000 until the end of this year. Axerra has 78 employees, mostly in Israel.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on September 3, 2002