Moves to New Headquarters to Accommodate Growth
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Feb. 27, 2002--Salira
Optical Network Systems, Inc., the first company to develop a
carrier-class access architecture for Ethernet Passive Optical
Networks (EPON), today announced that it has raised an additional $7
million in new equity and debt financing. The new funding closes a
Series B round of $22.1 million and brings the total investment in
Salira to $29.1 million. Sofinnova Ventures becomes the latest
investor to participate in Salira's Series B round which was led by
Mobius (formerly Softbank) Venture Capital. Pac Rim Venture Partners
and Manitou Ventures also participated in the official closing of the
round. Salira also disclosed that it has secured a $2 million
revolving credit facility from Heller Financial, a division of GE
Capital.
``Access in 'the last mile' is the final bottleneck that must be
fixed by the carriers in order for universal broadband access to be
achieved,'' said Eric Buatois, Principal of Sofinnova Ventures.
``Salira's optical access systems leverage the power of Ethernet,
making Salira a leading company serving both service provider and
enterprise customers.''
The new funding will be used to accelerate deployment of Salira's
systems into trials and general availability. The credit facility from
Heller Financial provides Salira with added flexibility in financing
its operations. The revolving line of credit will be used to finance
equipment and inventory, and to prepare for the production, assembly
and shipping of systems in the second half of 2002.
``We are very encouraged by the investment community's continued
validation of our technology and our approach to the market,'' said
Herbert J. Martin, CEO of Salira. ``This new funding will enable us to
accelerate the deployment of systems that deliver access to affordable
broadband services.''
New Headquarters
Salira also announced that it has moved its headquarters from San
Jose to a larger facility in Santa Clara to accommodate growth. The
new facility has a comprehensive systems integration and test center
for the manufacture and quality assurance of the company's access
products. In addition to the test center, the engineering activity
quadrupled its lab space in the move. The company has also moved its
administrative, operations, marketing and sales activities to the
company's new headquarters. Salira's new facility is located at 5451
Patrick Henry Drive, Santa Clara, California 95054.
About Salira Optical Network Systems, Inc.
Based in Santa Clara, Salira Optical Network Systems, Inc. was
founded in 2000 with a mission to develop systems that combine the
simplicity of IP/Ethernet with the power of optics to enable the
delivery of affordable broadband services. Salira has developed the
first carrier-class access architecture for Ethernet Passive Optical
Networks (EPON). Salira is working with leading service providers
worldwide to develop optical access solutions that preserve existing
TDM-based revenue streams, while facilitating a migration to new
opportunities in packet-based multi-services. Salira's access systems
bring fundamental advances to the local access network by enabling
unprecedented Service Level Agreement (SLA) management, real time
Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation (DBA) and remote service creation and
subscriber management.
Salira brings together a team of seasoned technologists and
distinguished executives with proven track records of delivering
carrier-class products for some of the world's most respected
equipment companies. Some of Salira's principal backers include Mobius
Venture Partners, Vertex Management, WI Harper and Sofinnova Ventures.
The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA and can be reached at
408/855-8860 or via their website at www.salira.com.
About Sofinnova Ventures
Based in San Francisco and founded in 1974, Sofinnova Ventures
invests in early-stage internet, telecommunications and life-sciences
startup companies. Sofinnova Ventures combines extensive
venture-capital experience with deep technical, startup and
operational management experience. More information is available at
www.sofinnova.com.
About Heller Financial
Heller Financial is a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Capital, a
division of General Electric. Heller's primary businesses are in
commercial finance, equipment leasing and real estate. More
information is available at www.hellerfinancial.com.
About Pac Rim Venture Partners
PacRim Venture Partners is a private venture capital fund that
invests in early-stage information technology companies with investors
from the United States, Taiwan and Hong Kong. More information is
available at www.pacrimpartners.com.
About Manitou Ventures
Manitou Ventures is a venture capital partnership that focuses
primarily on high growth technology sectors including communications,
internet, new media, semiconductors and IT services. More information
is available at www.manitouventures.com.
Contact:
Salira Optical Network Systems, Inc.
Steve Elich, 408/855-8860 ext. 228
selich@salira.com
or
Cynthia L. Stirling and Associates
Scott Green, 650/340-2893
sgreen@clstirling.com
