Equipe pulls in funding, Ciena

Anaheim, Calif.--At a time when the closing of funding rounds is rare and the use of strategic partnerships is becoming more prevalent, start-up Equipe Communications will reveal it has done both at the Optical Fiber Communication (OFC) conference.

Equipe has closed its third round of funding with Sequoia Capital Partners as the lead investor, as well as a minority investment from Ciena. The latest round brings Equipe’s total funding to $103 million.

Other third-round investors include Silicon Valley BancVentures and first-round investors Matrix Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners and Battery Ventures and second-round investors Pequot Capital Partners and Worldview Technology Partners.

Equipe also inked an OEM deal with Ciena. The deal is very complementary, because Ciena’s focuses on Layer 1 and Equipe focuses on Layer 2, according to Equipe CEO Dennis Rainville. Equipe has developed an ATM/MPLS core data switch, the E3200.

“There’s no overlap, and we have complementary customers,” Rainville said, noting that companies are responding to RFPs together.

The fear of larger service providers to use equipment from smaller vendors along with their continued interest in cutting edge technology that they can’t get from major vendors is a big driver for the growth of the OEM deals, according to Rainville. The deal with Ciena is not exclusive.