Airslide Systems

About Airslide Systems

Airslide Systems was established in March 1999 by Stefan Vaknin, formerly of Geo Interactive, and Oren Shmuelevich, who came from Vocaltec. The company positioned itself in the telecommunications hardware sector, focusing on developing infrastructure equipment for cellular operators' data and voice networks. The core of their business was a technology designed to yield significant cost savings for cellular operators, estimated at around 40%, on infrastructure maintenance and the installation of new lines and switches.

The business model centered on providing cellular operators with a new revenue channel by enabling the integration of information services into their existing infrastructure. This was achieved through a proprietary system based on Internet Protocol (IP), ensuring compatibility across all cellular protocols. By November 1999, the Herzliya-based company had secured a significant milestone with a $2 million seed investment from Sequoia Seed Partners, a joint fund of Cisco and the Sequoia fund, at a post-money valuation of approximately $6 million. This investment underscored the confidence of major industry players in the company's technology and market potential, with the product anticipated to reach the beta stage within eight months of the funding announcement.

The company's funding history includes a substantial $35 million Series B round on September 6, 2000. This round saw participation from a diverse and high-caliber group of investors, including Soros Fund Management, KPNQwest Italia SpA, TIM, Sequoia Capital, Anschutz Investment, and the Intel Communications Fund, further validating the firm's strategic direction within the messaging and telecommunications platform space.