Lara Networks to open development center

BANGALORE: Lara Networks of the US has announced plans to set up its India Design and Development Center in Bangalore. The company is into producing network application processors that accelerate packet processing and packet routing functions in high-end solutions.

Lara Networks is currently focusing on developing a set of broadband switching solutions for the optical Internet based on 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps Ethernet technologies. The Bangalore development center will develop products for Lara in the broadband switching and network application processor areas. The company has recently acquired WarpCom Technologies, an Ethernet switching company in the US to start its broadband switching solutions development. Lara is currently shipping the NAP family of products to communication companies worldwide, enabling these customers to ship telecommunications equipment capable of forwarding packets at line rates exceeding OC-192.

Speaking about the India development center, Lara Networks president and COO Jayan Ramankutty said, "As Lara Networks grows rapidly to address the fast growing broadband switching and network processing market, additional resources are required to be deployed, in order to rapidly develop leading edge products. We decided to be in India to tap the talent available here. The proactive policies of the Karnataka government in the IT sector have made it easy for us to set up our design and development center in Bangalore." Lara Networks is investing around $2 million in the next 24 months in the new development facility.

Founded in 1997 as Lara Technology, it split into two companies in December 1999, Lara Networks and empowerTel Networks. While Lara Networks focuses on silicon solutions for communications, empowerTel focuses on carrier class VoIP switches. Lara Technology has raised over $17 million VC funding from Telesoft Venture Partners and InveStar. Recently, Lara Networks has raised over $30 million venture funding for its expansions. Lara Networks aims to get $35 million revenue for the first year of operation worldwide.