PeakStream

About PeakStream

PeakStream, founded in 2005 by Asher Waldfogel and Matthew Papakipos, operated in the high-performance computing (HPC) market before its acquisition by Google on June 5, 2007. The company was established to address the growing challenge of writing software that could effectively utilize the power of multi-core processors, graphics processing units (GPUs), and specialized gaming chips. Papakipos, who served as CTO, brought his experience as the lead architect for Nvidia's GeForce 6 series of graphics chips, while the company's software origins trace back to the Brook Project at Stanford University led by co-founder and chief scientist, Professor Pat Hanrahan.

PeakStream developed a software application platform designed to enable programmers to harness parallel processors for computationally intensive applications. Its product suite included a workstation that allowed developers to program multi-core CPUs and GPUs directly on their desktops and an API for running HPC applications on x86 systems. The company's business model targeted clients in sectors requiring significant computational power, such as oil & gas, financial services, defense, and research, and also included revenue from technical support, training, and educational services.

Before its acquisition, PeakStream was a venture-backed startup based in Redwood City, California. The company successfully raised a total of $22 million over two funding rounds. Its Series A round in July 2006 brought in $5 million, followed by a larger Series B round of $17 million in September 2006. Prominent investors included Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, and Foundation Capital. The acquisition by Google was seen as a strategic move for the internet giant to enhance its massive server infrastructure and gain a competitive edge in optimizing its distributed computing environment.