IBM acquires Volta Networks

IBM has acquired cloud-native virtual routing startup Volta Networks for an undisclosed sum to bolster its networking product portfolio and bring a team of experienced software engineers and developers on board.

Volta, founded in 2015, has been trying to gain traction with network operators as they shift further towards cloud-oriented, software-based networking, but despite its efforts and almost $23 million in funding, it appears the company ran out of road.

That new company is IBM, where former Lumina Networks CEO Andrew Coward, having joined in February this year, is building a set of networking products as General Manager of Software Defined Networking.

“We acquired Volta Networks to extend our leadership in network automation and analytics,” Coward writes in an email to TelecomTV. “We’re applying the Volta technology to help manage cloud network resources, and this will fit into a wider framework of our Cloud Pak for Network Automation (CP4NA), IBM Edge Application Manager and IBM SevOne products,” he adds.

“We’ve made significant headway with these products through 2021, with new customer announcements at Dish Networks and Telefónica in the last two months, and the acquisition of Volta represents our continued investment in our networking product portfolio,” notes Coward.

CT Bureau