Azalea Networks raises funds for wireless mesh networks
Azalea Networks has raised a round of $15 million to fuel its wireless mesh network business expansion, VentureBeat has learned.
The Milpitas, Calif., company makes wireless mesh network gear such as routers that can receive data and transmit it along a wireless network, known as a mesh network, that is self-powered and self-healing. Azalea also makes the individual nodes that are used to connect different points in the network. A spokesman for the firm confirmed the company has completed the round.
Azalea’s routes can be used in security camera networks to transmit video data from a remote camera to a wired network. If one link in the network is disabled, the mesh can adapt and send the video to a different node that still gets the data to a central server. Among the industries being targeted are oil, transportation, and security.
Paul Gassett, director of marketing communications, said that the company’s products are being used in Beijing to set up a wireless mesh network in advance of the upcoming Olympic games. China has been well documented as the leader in using public surveillance technologies for everything from crowd control to traffic data collection. Azalea’s technology is part of the “Wireless Beijing” initiative that enables Internet access from almost any location at the Olympic venues.
Investors in the round include Rayson Technology of Taipei, Taiwan.
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About the Author, Dean Takahashi
Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.