DFJ Esprit backs PacketExchange in $12m Series B
06 Feb 2008
PacketExchange, a leading provider of wide-area Internet exchange services, today announced it has closed $12 million in Series B funding. The round was led by existing investors, DFJ Esprit, Draper Fisher Jurvetson’s exclusive venture capital partner in Europe and Bank of Scotland Growth Equity, part of the HBOS Group. In conjunction with the funding, PacketExchange also announced the appointment of Rick Mace to CEO to lead the company in its next phase of growth.PacketExchange, which includes Microsoft among its customers, will use the funds to expand its current network operations and global reach, while continuing to grow its market share.
“PacketExchange has a proven and exciting business model that addresses one of the critical issues of today’s Internet, which is guaranteeing high-quality of service delivery of content,” said Paul Murray, Partner, DFJ Esprit. “This second round financing is a strong validation of PacketExchange’s experienced management team, its product portfolio and international and North American track record.”
Rick Mace joins PacketExchange with over 30 years experience in high technology with a proven track record of growth for a number of publicly held and private corporations. Prior to PacketExchange, Rick served as COO of Tekelec, Inc. (NASDAQ: TKLC), which he joined through the sale of Steleus Group, Inc., where he served as CEO and Chairman and engineered the group’s eventual acquisition. Before Tekelec, Rick Mace was CEO of PakNetX, Inc., which was acquired by Aspect Communications in 2000.
Additionally, Rick was Vice President of Marketing and Sales of Digital Equipment Corporation’s $6.2 billion Service Division and was founder of Bell Atlantic Network Integration, Inc. and Bell Atlantic Software Systems.
"The public Internet, once the enabling component of business growth, is rapidly becoming the constraint,” said Rick Mace. “Congestion is antagonistic to the customer experience. PacketExchange is a secure and affordable alternative to the public Internet backbone for businesses that rely on a quality customer experience to sustain growth.”