Silverback Reboots With $9 Million

Silverback Technologies Inc. is expected to announce today that it recently raised $9 million in its fourth round of venture capital funding. The Billerica, Mass.-based company last raised cash in September 2001 when it secured a $4.5 million Series C deal. To date, Silverback has raised a total of $39.1 million.

Prism Venture Partners led the transaction and was joined by existing investors Matrix Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners and Spectrum Equity Investors. New strategic investors, such as the Boston University Community Technology Fund, also participated. As part of the funding, Jack Sweeney, a general partner at Prism is joining the Silverback board of directors.

Silverback has developed a network-monitoring software package dubbed InfoCare, which resides on an appliance within the customer’s network. The customer can access reports on the performance and security of networks through a Web-based interface, and Silverback technicians service and upgrade the software remotely.

Silverback takes its name from the alpha male of a breed of large, African mountain gorillas. Founded in 1999 by John Igoe, Robert Klotz and Deb MacCallum, the company now has 70 customers.

In that time, the company has also transitioned to calling itself a software vendor from a service provider. Two other companies in this issue of PEW have also made that transition: Securify INC. (p. 3) and Persist Technologies (Red Rock Ventures story on p. 9).