NEWS & EVENTS
Press Releases
Mazu Networks Ramps to Meet Demand for New Network Security Solutions
Receives $3 Million in Incremental VC Funding from StarVest Partners; Adds More Operational Experience with Appointment of Dan Keshian to Board of Directors
Cambridge, Mass (July 15, 2003) - Mazu Networks today announced that it has received $3 million in additional funding from StarVest Partners, L.P. To date, Mazu has raised a total of $23 million in venture funding. The company also announced that Dan Keshian, a venture partner for Greylock and former Cisco Systems executive, has joined its board of directors. Both the new funding and Keshian's extensive operational experience will help Mazu manage and capitalize on a sharp increase in demand for the company's network security solutions among enterprise and government customers.
"Our customers want a solution that saves them the time and expense of continually upgrading their security solution each time a new threat is encountered," said James Melvin, president and CEO of Mazu Networks. "At Mazu, we have that solution. The powerful network traffic profiling features in our PowerSecure products give our customers specific, immediate alerting and intelligence about all types of network threats -known and unknown - in real time. Mazu's platform prevents damage before it is done."
The StarVest investment is acceleration funding that will help Mazu expand key sales, marketing and partnership programs. Mazu's current investors include Greylock, Matrix Partners, Benchmark Capital and Pilot House Ventures Group.
"Our investment is a reflection of our strong belief that Mazu's products will provide value well beyond that delivered by existing IDS systems," said Jeanne M. Sullivan, StarVest Partners' founder and Co-Chairman. "Mazu's innovative approach has them uniquely positioned in a very hot market segment. Jim and his team have superbly executed on their strategy of providing IT security solutions that lower the cost of operating truly secure enterprise networks."
Prior to Greylock, Dan Keshian was vice president and general manager for the Customer Contact Business Unit in Cisco Systems' Applications Technology Group. Keshian joined Cisco after its acquisition of WebLine Communications, where he served as president and chief executive officer. Keshian grew WebLine to more than 130 employees and played a central role in the company's 1999 acquisition by Cisco for $325 million. Prior to WebLine, he was president of Avid Technology, the world's leading provider of digital audio and video editing systems. Keshian was instrumental in leading the company through its initial growth stages and IPO in 1993. During his tenure, Avid grew from less than $1 million in 1989 to over $400 million in 1996. Keshian earned both a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree from Bentley College.
"Mazu Networks is a company on a fast track to success. It has a great management team in place and a platform that is unlike any other in the network security market," said Keshian. "I am very pleased with this appointment and am eager to share my experiences to help Mazu reach its business objectives."
About Mazu Networks, Inc.
Mazu Networks delivers behavioral threat protection solutions that help corporations and government entities secure their business-critical services, processes and data. Mazu's self-optimizing security solutions maintain the availability of key network assets, lowering business risk and avoiding downtime and lost revenue. Mazu solutions use advanced network traffic modeling to combat internal and external system threats. Mazu is backed by premier venture capital firms, including Greylock, Matrix Partners, Pilot House Ventures Group and Benchmark Capital. Mazu is an IBM Business Partner. Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Mazu also maintains locations in New York and London. For more information, please visit www.mazunetworks.com or contact the company at www.mazunetworks.com/contact.