ZEDEDA, a startup powering the real-time enterprise, today
emerged from stealth mode and announced it closed $3.06 million in seed-stage
funding. As the Internet of Things (IoT) grows exponentially-IoT-related
spending is estimated to surpass $1 trillion by 2020-ZEDEDA is
pioneering a secure, cloud-native approach to scaling out real-time edge
applications for solutions ranging from self-driving cars to industrial robots.
"Tomorrow's edge computing environment will be distributed,
autonomous and cooperative. The edge is complex, and not only has to scale out
securely, but simultaneously must become friendlier for app developers. That's
the problem we are solving at ZEDEDA," said ZEDEDA CEO and Co-Founder Said
Ouissal. "True digital transformation requires a drastic shift from today's
embedded computing mindset to a more secure-by-design, cloud-native approach.
This will unlock the power of millions of cloud app developers and allow them
to digitize the physical world as billions of ‘things' become smart and
connected."
ZEDEDA will use the funding for continued research and product
development, investment in community open-source projects for edge computing,
and sales and marketing initiatives. ZEDEDA investors include Wild West Capital
and Almaz Capital, whose funding was part of a broader group investors, some of
whom also invested in IoT/edge companies Theatro and Sensity Systems (now
Verizon).
Brand New Computing Model Purpose-Built for Edge Devices
In the coming wave of pervasive computing, real-time apps,
cyber-physical systems and data services such as machine learning and analytics
will become commonplace. ZEDEDA envisions an open ecosystem and a completely
new technology stack that creates the service fabric essential to achieving the
hyperscale that edge computing requires.
To realize that goal, ZEDEDA has pulled together a distinguished
roster of industry veterans from legendary technology companies with expertise
in operating systems, virtualization, networking, security, blockchain, cloud
and application platforms. This unique blend of skills combines with the team's
deep open-source connections and standardization bodies. The team's work has
directly contributed to software and system patents as well as industry
standards used by billions of people around the world today.
"A new paradigm and massive innovation is needed to meet demand
for IoT and edge computing," said Kevin DeNuccio, Founder of Wild West Capital
and ZEDEDA's lead investor. "Sea changes in technology, including the
proliferation of IoT, pave the way for industry disruption, which large
incumbents tend to inhibit. Disruption takes a combination of an
entrepreneurial team with a very unique set of collective experience,
groundbreaking ideas and the ability to gain immediate traction with global
industrial leaders, who can transform their businesses with machine learning
and artificial intelligence delivered by the edge-connected IoT world. ZEDEDA
is simply one of the most promising edge computing startups out there."
"Operations Technology teams face major challenges when it comes
to fully realizing the advantages of an IoT world. Their worlds are becoming
massively connected systems dealing with virtualization, networking and
security," stated Christian Renaud, Research Director, IoT at 451 Research.
"Our recent research shows that while OT teams have the application plans for
leveraging IoT, the vast majority of organizations' IT resources and capabilities
are maxed out. This leaves open the question of how these edge applications and
IoT will scale out without compromising security or taxing resources even
further in the future."
ZEDEDA is currently accepting sign-ups for early access to its
platform which will move into customer trials in the first half of 2018.