Data switch-maker Hammerhead dead in the water
Telecom data-switching company Hammerhead Systems has folded due to the poor economy, reports VentureWire. Specifically, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company failed to recruit enough mobile carriers as customers for its Ethernet aggregation switches, which rout data from mobile users back to operator networks.
The company claims this functionality helped carriers adapt aging equipment to modern traffic demands — but to no avail. It just let go 50 of its 53 employees, and the several that remain are simply sifting through the business of the shutdown.
Perhaps the most discouraging part of this news is that Hammerhead raised $110 million in capital in its seven years, which it used to hire the best engineering talent it could find. Its backers included Apex Venture Partners , Enterprise Partners Venture Capital , Foundation Capital , Lighthouse Capital Partners , Mayfield Fund , Pequot Capital Management and Silver Creek Ventures .
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About the Author, Camille Ricketts
Camille is the lead writer for GreenBeat. She came to VentureBeat from Google where she worked on its traditional platforms team, particularly in TV. Before that, she was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York and London. Follow her on Twitter at @camillericketts, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
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