ONI Systems

About ONI Systems

ONI Systems Corporation was a provider of optical networking equipment for metropolitan and regional communications networks. The company was founded in 1997, originally as Optical Networks, Inc., and was a spin-off from Optivision, Inc. One of the founders was Rohit Sharma, who served as the Chief Technology Officer.

The company's products utilized optical technology, transmitting data via pulses of light instead of electric currents, to address bandwidth limitations in metropolitan and regional networks. ONI Systems developed and marketed equipment leveraging Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology, which increases the capacity of fiber optic cables by splitting light signals into multiple color channels. Its product suite included the ONWAVE SONET/SDH Multiplexer, ONWAVE Data Multiplexer, and the ONLINE family of optical transport platforms, designed to serve clients such as internet service providers and exchange carriers.

Based in San Jose, California, ONI Systems went public with an IPO in June 2000. At its peak, the company had a market valuation of around $20 billion. In a move to consolidate the metropolitan optical equipment market, Ciena Corp. acquired ONI Systems in June 2002 for approximately $900 million in stock. The acquisition gave Ciena a comprehensive suite of products, including Sonet termination, optical add-drop multiplexers, and hybrid optical switch architectures.