Founder: Doron Kempel
Launched: 2009
Funding: $276 million
Valuation: $1 billion
Disrupting: IT infrastructure
Rival: Nutanix
Source: SimpliVity
SimpliVity CEO Doron Kempel
It's always a vote of confidence when a big customer decides it believes so strongly in your company that it wants to become an investor as well. That's the position SimpliVity is in. The Westborough, Massachusetts-based company is a leader in what's known as hyperconverged infrastructure for IT.
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In this case, the customer was Waypoint Capital, who, after using SimpliVity's infrastructure solution at five of its global sites — and being impressed with the results — decided to lead a $175 million round of financing last year. This brings the total amount of funding for the company to $276 million. Other investors include Accel Partners, Charles River Ventures and Meritech.
Basically, the company's technology brings the virtual aspects of infrastructure together with the physical, resulting in a single solution for the customer. Simply put, it makes an all-in-one hardware box that combines server, storage and networking into one device. It's not unique, but the company claims it is cheaper and easier to install than competitors.
Nearly half of SimpliVity's customers — Major League Baseball, cement maker Humboldt Wedag and Swisscom, among them — come from outside the United States. The company, founded by CEO Doron Kempel, a former Israeli Special Forces operative who earned an MBA from Harvard, has 750 employees in 24 countries and claims it grew its customer base 2.5 times in the past year.
