Storage vendor Sepaton gets another $15.5 million in financing

Sixth-round financing for company founded in 1999

Storage vendor Sepaton has secured a sixth round of financing worth $15.5 million, the company announced Monday.

The venture capital market has dried up for the most part, particularly for seed-phase start-ups. But a few late-stage companies are still getting cash because a lack of IPOs and acquisitions has forced investors to stick with these companies longer before reaching liquidity.

Storage company Copan, founded in 2002, recently received $18.5 million in a fifth round of financing, with company executives saying they hoped that would be enough to take them into profitability.

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Storage vendor Sepaton has secured a sixth round of financing worth $15.5 million, the company announced Monday.

The venture capital market has dried up for the most part, particularly for seed-phase start-ups. But a few late-stage companies are still getting cash because a lack of IPOs and acquisitions has forced investors to stick with these companies longer before reaching liquidity.

Storage company Copan, founded in 2002, recently received $18.5 million in a fifth round of financing, with company executives saying they hoped that would be enough to take them into profitability.

Sepaton, which was founded in 1999 and is a maker of virtual tape libraries and data de-duplication products, says its latest round of financing was led by a new investor, Focus Ventures. Existing investors Jerusalem Venture Partners, Menlo Ventures, Valhalla Partners and HarbourVest Partners all put in some cash as well.

"We've been closely watching the growth of enterprise-ready, data protection and Sepaton is well positioned as the market leader," Focus Ventures co-founder Kevin McQuillan said in a news release. "We are impressed by Sepaton's revenue traction, unique product architecture, broad market appeal, and unwavering dedication to product excellence and customer success."

Formerly known as SANgate, Sepaton chose its current name in 2003 (the name is "no tapes" backward) and then in 2004 announced a fourth round of financing worth $23.5 million. Sepaton's fifth round of financing closed in 2007 and was worth $22 million.

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