ASC Grabs $30 Million Endorsement

Advanced Switching Communications today announced a hefty endorsement of $30 million from the venture capitalist community.

The influx of funds will enable ASC, which makes high-speed access gear based on the Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) technology, to continue development plans for its product line aimed at next-generation service providers.

Major contributors to the fund include Baker Communications Fund, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates and Technology Crossover Ventures. ASC President and Chief Executive Asghar Mostafa also contributed to the funding. This latest round of funding, the second in ASC's history, brings total investments in the company up to about $50 million, according to company officials.

NEA and TCV led the latest round of funding with contributions of $12.5 million each.

The financial nod of approval from venture capitalist comes at a time of increased competition in the access portion of the network equipment space, where ASC sells most of its products. Competitive pressures are likely to continue to increase for ASC due to the constant arrival of new players and the recent acquisition of one of ASC's competitors, Sentient Networks, by powerhouse Cisco Systems.