Networking technology provider Cisco has agreed to acquire US-based data centre management technology company Embrane for an undisclosed amount, providing an exit to conglomerate Sumitomo.
Founded in 2009, Embrane has created an application-centric platform for data centres that includes centrally-managed firewalls, virtual private networks and load balancers. Embrane’s team will join Insieme Networks, Cisco’s software-defined networking business.
Cisco invested $6m in Embrane’s $14m series C round in March 2014, which also featured Sumitomo, which invested through its Presidio Ventures subsidiary, Lightspeed Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates and North Bridge Venture Partners. Embrane had raised $41m in total venture funding.
Hilton Romanaski, Cisco’s senior vice president and head of corporate development, said: “As we continue to drive virtualisation and automation, the unique skillset and talent of the Embrane team will allow us to move more quickly to meet customer demands.
Together with Cisco’s engineering expertise, the Embrane team will help to expand our strategy of offering freedom of choice to our customers through the Nexus product portfolio and enhance the capabilities of Application Centric Infrastructure.”
Dante Malagrino, founder and CEO of Embrane, added: “Joining Cisco gives us the opportunity to continue our journey and participate in one of the most significant shifts in the history of networking: leading the industry to better serve application needs through integrated software-hardware models.”