Dallas tech startup raises $200 million in new capital to accelerate growth

StackPath, a Dallas edge computing startup, expects to accelerate its growth with more than $200 million in new financing from two investors.

The company said it received the backing from Juniper Networks Inc., a Silicon Valley-based maker of networking products, and Cox Communications Inc., an Atlanta-based cable, internet and phone company.

StackPath didn't specify the exact amount raised, except to say its equity investment now totals $396 million. An earlier funding round led by private equity firm Abry Partners brought in $180 million.

StackPath was founded in 2015 by Lance Crosby, whose former company SoftLayer sold to IBM in 2013 for a reported $2 billion. It's grown rapidly in recent years through acquisitions — a strategy that Forbes estimated propelled the company to $200 million in revenue in two years.

The new money will expand StackPath's product development, engineering and marketing efforts, the company said. Its workforce now totals around 250.

Spokeswoman Susie McDonald said StackPath will add features and functionality to its product suite to meet the growing demands of gaming and streaming video and audio companies.

Juniper Networks and Cox Communications each will get a seat on StackPath's board. Cox's new board member, Sujata Gosalia, said StackPath's edge computing “brings an evolution of network security and performance to the cable industry.”

“It will give our residential and business customers access to the next generation of connected services and experiences by bringing valuable processing power closer,” said Gosalia, Cox's executive vice president and chief strategy officer.

Edge computing is next-generation security technology that's becoming increasingly important as more businesses and consumer services move to the cloud. Crosby's previous company, SoftLayer, was an early cloud computing pioneer.

The advent of 5G digital cellular networks is expected to fuel demand for greater processing power for everything from autonomous devices to extended reality applications that meld augmented reality and virtual reality.

“It's impossible to imagine how diverse the applications of edge computing will be,” said Wen Temitim, StackPath's chief technology officer. “Until now, the edge was home only to managed services. We are already working with customers in virtually every industry vertical. Digital audio and video and gaming companies, in particular, have found it extremely straightforward to leverage our capabilities.”

Network Next, a company creating an “internet fast lane” for online gaming, is one of StackPath's customers.

“The difference between winning and losing a game can be milliseconds — latency really matters — but right now the internet doesn't care about games, so players get an inconsistent experience from one game to the next,” said Glenn Fiedler, CEO of Network Next.

Another customer, DAZN, is building a subscription-based live sports streaming service. Since launching in 2016, it's expanded to Austria, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the United States.