Press Releases
SkyPilot Networks Announces $15 Million Funding Round,
Names New CEO
Bob Machlin, ex-Cascade, Ascend, Joins as President and CEO
Santa Clara, California - May 16, 2005 - SkyPilot Networks today announced a $15 million round of funding and that Bob Machlin has joined the company as president and CEO. Machlin, a 20-year industry veteran with a track record at several highly successful telecommunications companies, joins SkyPilot as the company expands its presence in the broadband wireless market. This third round of financing includes previous investors Mobius Venture Capital, INVESCO Private Capital, SoftBank Asia Infrastructure Fund, Selby Venture Partners, Nexit Ventures, and Palo Alto Investors, bringing SkyPilot's total funding since inception to $44.4 million.
"Iím fortunate to be able to join a company that has proven its ability to meet the requirements for carrier-class broadband wireless networks," Machlin said. "SkyPilot already has more than 100 paying customers in almost 30 countries. During the due diligence process, customers raved about SkyPilot's unique capabilities and the ease at which they can deploy a cost-effective mesh network with superior performance."
In addition to its current market opportunities, SkyPilot will be expanding its market appeal with products to be announced at SUPERCOMM. SkyPilot has also joined the WiMAX Forum since the current product architecture can be expanded naturally to incorporate emerging WiMAX functionality.
Prior to SkyPilot, Machlin was president & CEO of AirFlow Networks, a wireless LAN equipment manufacturer, and president & CEO of Catena Networks, a DSL remote access telecommunications manufacturer. Before Catena, Machlin was vice president of worldwide marketing for Ascend Communications through its $24 billion acquisition by Lucent Technologies in 1999. Prior to Ascend, he was vice president of worldwide marketing for Cascade Communications, the worldwide market leader in Frame Relay and ATM for service provider networks. He has also held senior management positions with Coral Networks, Amnet and Motorola Codex. Bob holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and an MBA from Harvard.
"We are pleased that we have attracted such a successful industry veteran as Bob to join our team at SkyPilot," said Greg Galanos, executive managing director of Mobius Venture Capital and lead investor in SkyPilot. "Bob has a proven track record of helping telecommunications startups succeed, and with SkyPilot's sustainable differentiation in the emerging broadband wireless market, we look forward to becoming a market leader under his leadership."
About SkyPilot Networks
SkyPilot Networks is a leading provider of carrier-class broadband wireless
systems that enable carriers, service providers, and municipalities of all
sizes to easily deploy cost-effective last-mile voice and data services. The
SkyPilot solution offers quick time-to-revenue and a compelling return-on-investment
by extending reach, routing around obstacles, and increasing deployment flexibility,
thereby dramatically reducing equipment and operating costs. The SkyPilot products
provide a highly scalable and reliable wireless mesh network with a choice
of subscriber access options. SkyPilot Networks is a principal member of the
WiMAX Forum™ and is a privately held company based in Santa Clara, California.
For more information on SkyPilot and its solutions, contact pr@skypilot.com or
visit http://www.skypilot.com.
