Kernel Capital
and financier Dermot Desmond lead €22M Investment in
Intune Networks
Dublin, Ireland - 1st October 2009
Kernel Capital, confirm
that Intune Networks, the Dublin based telecoms equipment
supplier has secured €22 million in its most recent funding
round. Kernel Capital through The Bank of Ireland Kernel Capital
Private Equity Fund II and Financier Dermot Desmond (through
an investment vehicle) led the investment with additional
funding provided by existing investors Balderton Capital,
Amadeus Capital, Spark Capital as well as long term private
investors. In addition, Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern
Ireland participated in this round of financing, to support
Intune’s growth in Dublin and Belfast respectively. The funding
round is the largest private equity investment in the global
telecoms optical equipment sector in 2009. It is also the
largest private equity investment round in the European telecoms
equipment sector and the third largest in the European IT
sector this year.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr. Daniel McCaughan, Chief
Technology Advisor (ICT) at Kernel Capital said: “The days
when everyone thought the internet had infinite capacity are
over. The huge increase in downloading movies, music and internet
TV is creating enormous difficulties for Internet Service
Providers. Intune Networks has new and patented methods that
will alleviate this problem by routing and switching Internet
Data Packets to exactly where they need to go. This technology
is exactly what the industry needs and gives the Company true
global potential.”
Tim Fritzley, CEO, Intune Networks said: “The funding will
be used for the full commercial product launch in mid 2010,
as well as for expanding market coverage beyond the European
carriers on into North America and Asia. There are tremendous
global opportunities for Intune Networks to roll out its innovative
technology to help revolutionise how next generation networks
and web services are developed and delivered. We are now fully
resourced and sufficiently funded to take advantage of these
opportunities, to grow the company in new geographies and
to cement our leadership in markets where we are already established.”
Intune Networks was named to lead the Government’s programme
to build Ireland’s Exemplar Smart Network in July 2009. The
network will be the first step in creating a next generation
smart and green communications infrastructure for Ireland.
The decision to develop the network using the Intune Network’s
technological approach was announced by Minister for Communications,
Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan at the publication
of the ‘Technology Actions to Support the Smart Economy’ strategy
document.
Niall Olden, Chief Executive of Kernel Capital, who will join
the Board of Intune Networks, added: “We are keen to invest
in new clever technologies that provide strong commercial
opportunity. We knew that ISP providers were hurting and a
new technological approach was needed. Intune has a great
team, patented technology and a ready market. We believe that
InTune has strong potential to become a global player in the
telecoms equipment sector.”
END
Notes to Editors:
For additional information please contact:
Orla Rimmington, Operations Manager, Kernel Capital
Phone: +353 21 4928974
Fax: +353 21 4928977
About Intune Networks
Intune Networks was founded in Dublin in 1999 by John Dunne
and Tom Farrell, both UCD graduates who were researching laser
technology in European funded programmes. Over the next 10
years, Intune developed and refined its technology to solve
a critical problem in the optical networking sector and this
solution is now being brought to market as a family of telecom
switch products. Along the way, Intune supplied expertise
and technology to many European and US research programmes
building a customer base of the world’s leading academic and
commercial research groups. Now, Intune is focussed on the
telecoms equipment market where the next generation of digital
service requirements such as quality of experience and high
bandwidths are creating a new global opportunity. Intune currently
employs 120 people and has design centres in Dublin and Belfast.
The problem Intune has solved is how to evolve network architectures
to cope with the massive increase in unpredictable traffic
demand while sustaining profitability and controlling costs.
They have achieved this through their breakthrough technology
named Optical Packet Switch and Transport (OPST). Intune has
packaged this breakthrough technology into a carrier-grade
networking system which will be available for deployment in
2010. Network operators all over the world are currently trying
to solve this networking issue, and a large global market
exists for Intune’s new product line. Early versions of the
products are already on trial with several large European
operators having validated the core technology performance
over the past 2 years.
www.intunenetworks.com
About Kernel Capital
Kernel Capital is one of Ireland’s largest and most active
venture capital funds. Established in 2002 the firm has a
portfolio of investee companies across, technology, life science
and general industry. With investment funds of €165m under
management through Kernel Capital and its associate company
Seroba Kernel. The firm targets investment opportunities in
the range of €250k to €5m+. All sectors and all stages of
a company’s development are considered. The Kernel Team has
been instrumental in numerous corporate finance and IP licensing
transactions totalling several hundred million Euros and are
named inventors on over 50 patents. The Bank of Ireland Kernel
Capital Private Equity Fund II has received funds under the
Enterprise Ireland Seed and Venture Capital Scheme. www.kernelcapital.ie
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