Tejas to expand global footprint

BANGALORE: Optical networking firm Tejas Networks India Ltd. today announced its plans to expand its global footprint.

Addressing the media here today, Sanjay Nayak, CEO and managing director of Bangalore-based Tejas said his company will “address the emerging markets in South East Asia, Africa and Russia.”

To expand the firm’s global presence, “we are looking at countries near to India with large population, less tele-density and large geographic expanse,” he said.

To a query on whether Tejas would go for tie-ups in these countries, Nayak said it would seek local support in these countries.

The expansion of the 300-employee strong, six-year-old company’s footprint to other countries is part of its strategy to “win in India and then go globally.”

Tejas, with 20 per cent market share in India, also announced that it has raised $20 million in Series – D equity funding led by Boston, US-based Sandstone Capital.

Existing investors, Dr Gururaj Deshpande, Battery Ventures and Intel Capital also participated in the round, along with a new co-investor, SUN Technologies.

This funding will finance Tejas’s plans to expand its international business and invest in R&D for developing new packet-aware optical products.

“We are delighted to attract funding from global investors who are excited and committed to helping build a global product company from India,” Nayak said.

“With a solid foundation in place, we decided that this was the right time to invest aggressively and scale our business to the next level.”

Tejas hopes to have a better footing in the global market, as R&D in India requires less investment compared to that of the West.

“If we can invest aggressively, we can be a serious player in the global market,” Nayak pointed out.

The company, which had shipped more than 20,000 systems worldwide, is eyeing to cross the 30,000 mark in financial year 2007.

“Next year we’ll be shipping systems with 10 GB of capacity,” Nayak added.

Tejas is expecting a significant growth in exports. Nayak said exports are likely to contribute 50 per cent of the revenue in the next financial year.

The company’s revenue was Rs 128 crore in FY2005-`06.

Nayak also announced plans to recruit 100 more people in the next 12 months. The majority of the new recruits will engage in R&D, while the rest will be in customer support and sales, as manufacturing is outsourced.

Without specifying any timeframe, he also said Tejas would go for an IPO.

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