Andy Ory’s 128 Technology Scores $20M for Next-Gen Networking

When you’ve founded and run a company like Acme Packet—acquired by Oracle for $2 billion-plus in 2013—raising venture capital is not a problem.

128 Technology, a stealthy startup led by Andy Ory and other Acme Packet veterans, has closed $20 million in a new round of equity financing, according to an SEC filing. By our count, the company has raised $32 million to date.

In addition to Ory and co-founder Patrick MeLampy, the filing lists Julio Vega, which is the name of a partner with law firm Morgan Lewis, and Bob Hower, co-founder of G20 Ventures.

Ory and company have been mum about what they’re building. But we can speculate that it’s an enterprise networking play based primarily around software. The new 128 Technology website says the company “is on a mission to fix the Internet.” According to the site, “networking can be much simpler, more elegant, and more intuitive while providing advanced security, reliability, and performance capabilities.”

Ory spoke last week at Xconomy’s Enterprise Tech Strikes Back conference, mostly about how to build a successful company and how to develop a more collaborative culture of entrepreneurship in New England.

“We’re very Yankee here—we don’t celebrate the entrepreneur,” Ory said at the event. But he also admitted, “I don’t want to be celebrated.”

Author: Gregory T. Huang

Greg is a veteran journalist who has covered a wide range of science, technology, and business. As former editor in chief, he overaw daily news, features, and events across Xconomy's national network. Before joining Xconomy, he was a features editor at New Scientist magazine, where he edited and wrote articles on physics, technology, and neuroscience. Previously he was senior writer at Technology Review, where he reported on emerging technologies, R&D, and advances in computing, robotics, and applied physics. His writing has also appeared in Wired, Nature, and The Atlantic Monthly’s website. He was named a New York Times professional fellow in 2003. Greg is the co-author of Guanxi (Simon & Schuster, 2006), about Microsoft in China and the global competition for talent and technology. Before becoming a journalist, he did research at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. He has published 20 papers in scientific journals and conferences and spoken on innovation at Adobe, Amazon, eBay, Google, HP, Microsoft, Yahoo, and other organizations. He has a Master’s and Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from MIT, and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.