Sandburst Scoops $15M

Chip startup Sandburst Corp. this week clinched $15 million in the companys fourth round of funding -- money it is planning to use to crack new markets.

NeoCarta Ventures Inc. led the fourth round, and new investor SpaceVest came on board. Existing investors Greylock, Matrix Partners, 3i US, Investor Growth Capital, and Intel Capital were also involved.

Big-name switch vendors Enterasys Networks Inc. (NYSE: ETS) and Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) are already using Sandburst technology, and David Larson, the company’s director of technical marketing told NDCF that the company is expanding into new areas.

Previously, Sandburst has aimed its products at the high-end enterprise chassis market, although now the company is also going after the mid-range space, he says.

So, what has prompted this decision? Larson says that the technology within Sandburst’s QE2000 chip, which was unveiled last October, is opening up new possibilities (see Sandburst Upgrades Traffic Manager).