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Switch Closes $35M Funding RoundSwitch Closes $35M Funding Round

The UCaaS startup, maker of the Switch communication app for Google Apps, eyes market growth, increased functionality, and new development targets.

Phil Edholm

May 19, 2015

2 Min Read
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The UCaaS startup, maker of the Switch communication app for Google Apps, eyes market growth, increased functionality, and new development targets.

UCaaS startup Switch Communications, which provides the Switch communications application for Google Apps and the Uberconference service, today announced it is closing a Series C funding round from which it will receive $35 million. Craig Walker, Switch CEO, said the company will use the new funding to grow its market, develop more UC functionality, and move beyond the Google App environment.

Amasia Capital, an investment fund focused on trans-Pacific ventures with significant funding from Asian carriers, led the round. Other new investors include Felices Ventures, Softbank, and Work-Bench, with earlier investors Andreessen Horowitz and Google Ventures participating in this round as well. Including the $18 million in the first two rounds, this brings Switch's total funding to $53 million.

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Looking forward, Walker said during a call on the funding that he is focused on "building out Switch as a full UC platform" and "moving beyond Google." The startup moved its Switch app out of beta in January, giving enterprises a way to support voice and other communications capabilities in Google Apps, as No Jitter reported at the time. Switch recently chalked up an undisclosed enterprise win that Walker said he believes will be one of the largest cloud sales to date -- a sign that Switch is on the path to be a strong UCaaS competitor.

Having seen Walker at the Microsoft Ignite conference a couple of weeks ago in Chicago, I would suggest the Switch team clearly is focused on how to compete and coexist with Microsoft. It will be interesting to see how the company accelerates with a Web programming-based platform and the addition of new capabilities and services.

I have no doubt we will be hearing more about Switch, both inside the Google Apps ecosystem and more generally as a UC cloud provider. As indicated by continued interest among VCs, savvy investors clearly believe enterprise communications has room for innovation and profitable market share growth, even now that Skype for Business is officially on the scene.

About the Author

Phil Edholm

Phil Edholm is the President and Founder of PKE Consulting, which consults to end users and vendors in the communications and networking markets to deliver the value of the integration of information and interaction.

Phil has over 30 years' experience in creating innovation and transformation in networking and communications. Prior to founding PKE , he was Vice President of Technology Strategy and Innovation for Avaya. In this role, he was responsible for defining vision and strategic technology and the integration of the Nortel product portfolio into Avaya. He was responsible for portfolio architecture, standards activities, and User Experience. Prior to Avaya, he was CTO/CSO for the Nortel Enterprise business for 9 years. At Nortel, he led the development of VoIP solutions and multimedia communications as well as IP transport technology. His background includes extensive LAN and data communications experience, including 13 years with Silicon Valley start-ups.

Phil is recognized as an industry leader and visionary. In 2007, he was recognized by Frost and Sullivan with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Growth, Innovation and Leadership in Telecommunications. Phil is a widely sought speaker and has been in the VoiceCon/Enterprise Connect Great Debate three times. He has been recognized by the IEEE as the originator of "Edholm's Law of Bandwidth" as published in July 2004 IEEE Spectrum magazine and as one of the "Top 100 Voices of IP Communications" by Internet Telephony magazine. Phil was a member of the IEEE 802.3 standards committee, developed the first multi-protocol network interfaces, and was a founder of the Frame Relay Forum. Phil has 13 patents and holds a BSME/EE from Kettering University.