LeftHand Networks Secures $25 Million In Series C Funding
LeftHand Networks®, a leading provider of complete iSCSI storage area network (SAN) solutions built using patented storage clustering technology, today announced completion of a $25 million dollar round of series C financing from some of the most successful venture capital firms in the country. The C round funding brings the total equity investment in LeftHand Networks to $75 million. Valhalla Partners led the round, with new participation from JPMorgan Chase, as well as funding support from all existing venture investors.
LeftHand Networks will use this investment towards further global expansion of its iSCSI SAN solutions based on its SAN/iQ software. The company will enter new geographic markets in Asia and expand its European presence to answer strong worldwide demand for its products. The demand is being fueled by the increasing need for distributed network storage solutions from both end-users and storage solution providers.
"LeftHand's industry-leading storage clustering technology clearly sets the company apart from the legacy storage providers. Our investment in LeftHand was driven by their market leadership as the only storage provider in the industry able to deliver true grid storage architecture," says Gene Riechers, general partner for Valhalla Partners. "Tier one OEM companies are telling us that LeftHand's unparalleled approach to grid storage technology is several years ahead of the entire industry."
"The value of LeftHand is in its storage software," said Tony Asaro, senior analyst for the Enterprise Strategy Group. "LeftHand provides intelligence for clustered network storage, thin provisioning, virtual partitioning, snapshots, remote mirroring and other valuable capabilities that create a next generation storage system. ESG has found that customers embrace SAN/iQ once they hear the story and LeftHand is smartly using this next round of funding to expand its market reach."
LeftHand is the technology leader in the iSCSI SAN market with over 3,000 systems installed in multiple industries and several patents in place for its SAN/iQ software. In addition to Valhalla Partners and JPMorgan Chase, LeftHand Networks' investors include: Sprout Group, Boulder Ventures, Garage Technology Ventures, Ironside Ventures, New World Ventures, Portage Venture Partners, Sequel Venture Partners, Vista Ventures and Wasatch Ventures.
About LeftHand Networks
LeftHand Networks pioneered IP-based storage area networks (SAN) in 2001. SANs built using LeftHand's SAN/iQ® software are uniquely able to distribute and protect data across a cluster of industry-standard storage servers. The company's patented architecture increases data availability, allows users to start small and grow the SAN seamlessly, and simplifies management. The LeftHand SAN is ideal for primary storage and server consolidation, centralized backup, and the disaster recovery. For more information, contact LeftHand at info@lefthandnetworks.com.