Alkira, a start-up based in San Jose, California, announced $54 million in Series B funding for its global network cloud delivered as-a-service.
Alkira’s Cloud Services Exchange (CSX) offers a simplified networking experience for on-premises, cloud, and multi-cloud environments with integrated network and security services, and full operational visibility and governance. The company was founded in 2018 by Amir and Atif Khan, who previously founded Viptela, an SD-WAN pioneer that was acquired by Cisco in 2017 for $610 million.
The new funding was led by Koch Disruptive Technologies (KDT) with participation from Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, GV (formerly Google Ventures), and others. The company has now raised $76 million. to date.
“Koch Industries is a significant customer to cloud providers, and we have seen first-hand how Alkira’s powerful and intuitive network simplifies a company’s transition to the cloud,” said Chase Koch, president of Koch Disruptive Technologies. “At Koch’s scale an agile, global, end-to end network is critical to our competitiveness and growth and we are excited to lead Alkira’s Series B investment.”
“Alkira has seen a tremendous response from customers and technology and GTM partners to deploy and deliver the Alkira Network Cloud. We are honored to have our Series B led by Koch, an early customer who deployed Alkira Cloud Services Exchange™ (CSX) and shares our vision to transform networking,” said Amir Khan, President, CEO and founder of Alkira. “Koch has entrusted Alkira to rebuild their cloud network backbone and expand their network infrastructure to multi-cloud. We are delighted to welcome Jason Illian to our Board, and to receive the ongoing support from Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, and GV on this exciting journey.”
See video with Alkira founders: https://youtu.be/njxM65N0hjg
