Forward Networks builds mathematically accurate digital twins of enterprise networks to help customers operate, visualize and secure complex hybrid environments. Its platform supports AWS, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure alongside on‑premises infrastructure, enabling site reliability and security analysis. The company's technology was created out of research by co‑founders David Erickson, Nikhil Handigol, Brandon Heller and Peyman Kazemian while they were PhD students at Stanford. Customers quadrupled and ARR grew 139% between 2021 and 2022, with a 96% retention rate. Forward currently does not offer remediation services but may explore that area in the future, and security is expected to take a more prominent role. The company is using new capital to continue R&D and expand its customer base. Forward Networks' platform uses mathematical modeling developed by its Stanford PhD co-founders to create a replica of a customer's network and simulate processes and applications to distinguish normal from abnormal behavior. The system is used to monitor, map and predict network traffic and outages, rather than automatically remediate issues. Today the majority of customers use the product to monitor on-premises architectures, though the company launched a public cloud product for AWS late last year that is already in use. Forward Networks' monitoring currently covers about 75,000 devices, including roughly 15,000 at Goldman Sachs. The company plans to apply the new funding toward R&D and business development and sees potential M&A opportunities, but declined to comment further. Forward Networks provides a platform that models, maps and analyzes complex IP networks to surface network state, identify faults and reduce outages for service providers and enterprises. The product creates behavioral models, automates information collection and analysis, and aims to cut mean time to repair for operations and security teams. The company launched Forward Essentials, a freemium offering that gives operators quick access to network state, and added VMware vSphere virtual networking support on ESXi hosts. Forward says it will use new funding to hire more engineers and expand product features. The founding team comprises four Stanford PhDs, including CEO David Erickson and co-founders Nikhil Handigol, Brandon Heller and Peyman Kazemian. Customers named in the article include DXC and Telstra; the company notes a competitive landscape that includes Veriflow. Forward Networks is a stealth startup focused on network control software intended to improve networking for companies of all sizes. The company says it is bringing leading computer-science ideas to networking to dramatically improve operations. Its stated goal is to accelerate an industry-wide transition toward networks with greater flexibility, agility, and automation driven by a new generation of network control software. Forward Networks competes in the virtual networking space against startups like Big Switch and Midokura as well as incumbents Cisco, Juniper, and VMware. Financially, it disclosed via a public SEC filing that it secured $11.1 million in capital in a round led by Andreessen Horowitz and has raised at least $11.97 million to date, including an $824,999 round from September 2013. The company declined to provide further comment on the raise.

Total raised

$112M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series D

Latest activity

Jan 2023