Hammerhead bites off $25 million

Data networking start-up Hammerhead Systems announced Monday that it has scored a second round of funding worth $25 million. This round brings total funding for the Mountain View, Calif.-based company to $43 million. Pequot Ventures, a new investor in Hammerhead, led the round. All first-round investors also participated, including Mayfield, Foundation Capital and Enterprise Partners.

Hammerhead Systems, founded in January 2002, builds a switch that helps carriers migrate their existing Frame Relay networks to MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching). The product also supports Ethernet services. MPLS is the technology that large carriers will likely use to converge their voice and data networks onto the same network. It allows carriers to more efficiently use their network resources, while still offering private and secure connections for customers.