Press Release
PacketHop Raises $10 Million in Third-Round Funding to Grow Mobile Mesh Networking Software and Multimedia Applications Company
Groundbreaking AWARE™ Communications Suite Will Enhance Public Safety & Homeland Security Agencies' Communications
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Aug. 8, 2005 - PacketHop, Inc., the leader in mobile mesh networking software and multimedia applications for instant wireless group communications, today announced that it has completed its third round of financing in the amount of $10 million. This round was led by GF Private Equity Group, along with previous investors, including U.S. Venture Partners, Mayfield and ComVentures. To date, the company has raised $25 million over three rounds of financing. Additionally, PacketHop announced that its headquarters have been relocated from Belmont, Calif., to expanded facilities in Redwood City.
The new capital will be used by PacketHop to bring to market its AWARE™ Communications Suite. The company's mobile mesh solution works with readily available off-the-shelf Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices. The first release of the software is optimized for public safety and homeland security agencies, which require rapidly deployable infrastructure-less incident area networks. PacketHop's mobile mesh network and multimedia applications are particularly beneficial to these agencies for mission-critical communications. The AWARE™ Communications Suite is the first system that enables instant mobile broadband networks and server-less applications wherever and whenever they are needed.
"PacketHop's solution enables users to instantly generate and share multimedia information in any environment, even when wireless base stations, hotspots and other infrastructure are not available. This provides unequaled user flexibility and will open the door for a new generation of applications and services,” said Michael Howse, president and chief executive officer of PacketHop. “Our innovative PacketHop mobile mesh networks and server-less applications will initially be deployed by public safety and homeland security agencies, closely followed by consumer and enterprise markets, because they deliver a powerful combination of high network bandwidth and distributed applications."
PacketHop is expanding its marketing and sales resources to coincide with the upcoming general availability of the AWARE™ Communications Suite, which includes the TrueMesh networking software and the company's innovative Aware™ for Public Safety applications featuring real-time multicast video, white boarding, location tracking and instant messaging.
About PacketHop
PacketHop, Inc. develops mobile mesh networking software which enables instant wireless group communication for commercial enterprises, government organizations and consumer markets. AWARE™ Communications Suite software enables 802.11 standards-based devices to create extended Wi-Fi hot-zones on the fly – known as autonomous mobile mesh networks – which can securely operate with or without wireless access points. By making infrastructure completely optional, PacketHop delivers coverage whenever and wherever instant wireless broadband communication is needed – with greater resiliency, reliability and robustness than any other comparable technology. Along with the company's device agnostic mobile mesh networking solution that facilitates rapid and cost-effective deployments, PacketHop offers the Aware™ for Public Safety multimedia application with capabilities such as real-time multicast video, resource tracking, instant messaging and white boarding. Founded in 2003 and based in Silicon Valley, Calif., PacketHop is funded by venture firms U.S. Venture Partners, Mayfield, ComVentures and GF Private Equity Group, as well as SRI International. For more information on PacketHop, please visit www.packethop.com.