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VCs: Who's Hot?

It's often said that the quality of a startup's technology and management can be judged by the quality of its financial backers. However, the reverse can also be true; it's possible to identify the VCs that have got their acts together on storage networking technology by looking at which hot -- or not so hot -- startups they're backing.

With this in mind, Byte and Switch has established a ranking of VCs in terms of how many of the leading storage networking startups are in their portfolios.

As it happens, the VCs backing the largest number of storage networking startups also appear to have picked the most promising investments. All of the startups in Byte and Switch's Top Ten Private Storage Networking Companies are represented in the ranking.

Of course, this listing is going to change over time as new startups emerge and older ones stumble. All the same, the exercise helps focus attention on the fact that money plays a key role in fueling developments in this industry, and smart money and smart startups often go together.

Table 1: VCs Backing the Most Storage Networking Startups

Name of VC company No. of investments Companies invested in
Battery Ventures 5 Storigen Systems, Storability, Akara, Sangate Systems, Kashya
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) 4 3ware Inc., DataCore Software, Troika Networks, Confluence Networks Inc.
OneLiberty Ventures 4 InfiniSwitch Corp., DataCore Software, VIEO Inc., Storigen Networks
Lightspeed Venture Partners 3 Storability Inc., NeoScale Networks Inc., Nishan Systems Inc.
WorldView Technology Partners 3 Cereva Networks Inc., 3PARdata Inc., StorageWay Inc.
Charles River Ventures 3 Pirus Networks, Storigen, Nauticus Networks Inc.
Redpoint Ventures 2 Storageway, Confluence Networks
U.S. Venture Partners 2 MaXXan Systems Inc., Intransa
Quantum Technology Ventures 2 Nishan, Confluence Networks
Amerindo Investment Advisors Inc. 2 Troika, 3PARdata
Dell Ventures 2 BlueArc Corp., Nishan
J.P. Morgan & Co. 2 BlueArc, SANcastle Technologies
Matrix Partners 2 Cereva, StorageWay
Oak Investment Partners 2 Cereva, Scale Eight Inc.
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