One Step Closer to “Cloud” Computing
3Leaf Systems raises $35 million round for enterprise virtualization technology: ”
About 13 months after VMware raised nearly $1 billion in an initial public offering, virtualization technology is still creating some buzz. Virtualization chip maker 3Leaf Systems said today it raised $35 million in a third round of funding.
Milpitas-based LSI Corp. led the round while Alloy Ventures, Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, Intel Capital and Storm Ventures also participated.
3Leaf, based in Santa Clara, Calif., said it would use the funds to accelerate development and expand sales and marketing. The company came out of stealth in March and announced it has licensed Intel’s new processor data pathway (known as the QuickPath Interconnect bus) as part of a custom chip that creates memory-efficient links between data center servers. The company’s first product is expected to be a custom chip using the HyperTransport bus created by Advanced Micro Devices. That product is due in 2009.
The virtualization technology basically creates one big pool of computers from a collection of Intel-compatible servers. With it, the company can run a single operating system across as many as 16 servers, creating a powerful multiprocessing system out of a bunch of low-cost servers.
The company previously had raised $32.5 million. It will compete with a variety of companies in the communications chip industry.
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(Via VentureBeat.)
