Inkra Nets $30.1 Million

 funding fundingInkra Networks has raised $30.1 million in a Series B deal led by Morgenthaler. The Fremont, Calif.-based network equipment provider originally sought to raise $30 million, and denied Morgenthaler’s request to expand the round. Inkra has now raised $66.6 million in venture capital from investors like Battery Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Storm Ventures and Greenstone Venture Partners.

;We work in the front end of the data center where all Web applications are brought online. Every Web address you type goes to a data center and a response comes back, we are improving upon that,” says Sanjay Dhawan, chief executive at Inkra. “Our goal is to use the money to transition from R&D to sales and marketing. The goal is to increase the sales reach for our customers.” The company touts 95 employees and will be adding to that by year-end. Ken Gullicksen, a partner with Morgenthaler and new Inkra board member, is excited about his new portfolio company’s targeted space. “We spent a lot of time in the data center market and chose Inkra,” Gullicksen says. “Without Inkra’s flexible and rational solution, enterprises and service providers will suffer the pain of run-away appliance proliferation.

Founded in May of 2002, Inkra picked up its first institutional round of funding in October 2000. The round closed at $36.5 million. It used that money to build its products, which it introduced to the market in April. Inkra’s customers include Savvis Communications and MVC, a computer company in Japan. Inkra is already seeing revenue.

Dhawan says the company’s latter round will take it to cash flow breakeven and beyond. “We’re not anticipating another round of funding,” he says.

Morgenthaler has its hopes set on an IPO. “We’re looking to build a long-term company and we always look for an IPO. It’s the goal we are support,” say Gullicksen.

Contact Danielle Fugazy