Syndeo's 'Softswitch' Lures $75M In Hard-To-Get VC $$

Providing a new way for telecom carriers and cable-TV companies to offer conventional services and some newer ones earned Syndeo a whopping $75 million third round of funding.

The Campbell, Calif., company applies technology to deliver phone services such as dial tone, call forwarding, and call waiting as well as voice-over-IP calling. But Syndeo uses next-generation packet data networks with uncompromised reliability, CEO Ted Griggs says. The company's products must equal "what's out there in the legacy world," where 99.999% reliability or better is demanded, he says.

Syndeo's Syion 426 "softswitch" replaces large, expensive switches with less-expensive and more-flexible software that runs on standard servers. It's aimed at any converged IP network, cable and digital subscriber lines, and fixed wireless infrastructures.

Comcast Interactive Capital and IUGO Ventures led Syndeo's latest round. Syndeo is seeking new customers among cable-TV companies that want to offer packet-based voice and data services.