Nauticus Networks

About Nauticus Networks

Nauticus Networks was a developer of internet infrastructure products headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts. The company was founded in 2000 by Joshua Weiss, who also served as its CEO. Weiss's prior experience included co-founding Prominet, which was acquired by Lucent Technologies, and managing the Xodiac Networking group at Data General.

The firm specialized in high-performance web-based switches designed to help enterprises deliver critical applications with enhanced performance, security, and availability. Its core business involved developing and selling these switches, which were targeted at enterprise networks and IT outsourcers managing web-enabled applications. The technology focused on improving security and network services like load balancing and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) processing. Nauticus Networks' product line, the N2000 series, featured switches that delivered up to 4 Gbps of cryptographic support and 24,000 SSL connections per second. A key feature was the N2000V's virtualization capability, which allowed a single physical switch to be partitioned into multiple, independent virtual switches that could be managed dynamically.

The company successfully raised $38.4 million in funding from investors including Advent International, CRV, and Matrix Partners. A significant Series A funding round in February 2001 brought in $12.5 million. After four years of operation, Nauticus Networks was acquired by Sun Microsystems in an all-cash deal announced in January 2004. Sun Microsystems intended to integrate Nauticus's virtualization technology into its server platforms and bolster its N1 data center initiative.