Bigfoot gets $8 million

by: John - posted: 11/17/2009 11:06:00 AM

No, the sasquatch didn't win the lottery. Bigfoot Networks, makers of the Killer NIC cards was able to secure an additional $8 million in funding making it a total of $20.75 million so far. Bigfoot Network's really gaining steam now as they are looking to push their line of network cards out to gamers. We'll try and take a look at one of them here soon but congratulations to Bigfoot Networks for securing some more cash to keep them going.

Bigfoot Networks Secures $8 Million Series B Funding
Creator of Killer(r) Gaming Network Cards Names Wayne Dunlap VP of
Engineering, Appoints Industry Veteran Greg Ballard to Board of Directors
REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwire - November 17, 2009) - Bigfoot Networks, the
networking technology company behind the Killer line of gaming network
cards, today announced it has raised $8 million in a Series B financing
round led by existing investors North Bridge Venture Partners, Palomar
Ventures and Raven Venture Partners. It will use the investment to fund
product development and expand its go-to-market capabilities. Bigfoot
Networks has raised a total of $20.75 million in funding to date.
Bigfoot Networks also announced that it has hired former Polycom executive
Wayne Dunlap as vice president of engineering and added veteran consumer
technology executive Greg Ballard to its board of directors.

Reporting to Bigfoot Networks CEO Michael Howse, Mr. Dunlap will direct
development of the company's high-performance online gaming technology. As
former CTO and vice president of engineering at Polycom, Dunlap brings
extensive experience in networking and data communications. At Polycom's
Video Solutions Division he was instrumental in creating the top-ranked HDX
high-definition videoconferencing product line. Prior to Polycom, Mr. Dunlap
held technical lead and senior engineering positions with Wang Laboratories,
Nomadic Systems and The Complete PC. He has several US patents in visual
collaboration.

"Bigfoot Networks' technology targets a growing demand for improved
networking performance in online gaming," Dunlap said. "I'm thrilled to lead
a team that is pioneering this exciting new category of networking solutions
and evolving the experience for gamers around the world."
Ballard has served as CEO of numerous technology and entertainment
companies, including Glu Mobile (NASDAQ: GLUU), a leading global publisher
of mobile games; SONICblue, the makers of ReplayTV and the Rio digital music
player; MyFamily.com, a successful subscription-based Internet service; and
3D-gaming pioneer 3dfx Interactive. Previously, Ballard was a senior
executive at Time Warner, Capcom Software and Digital Pictures. Ballard has
also served on the board of directors for THQ (NASDAQ: THQI), Pinnacle
Systems, IGN and xFire and currently serves on the board of DTS (NASDAQ:
DTSI).

Today's announcement follows other recent news of progress at the company.
Bigfoot Networks recently announced a new distribution partnership with
VisionTek, a leading consumer PC peripherals company, to license and
distribute the Killer Xeno(tm) Pro. Bigfoot Networks currently sells gaming
network cards inside PCs from Dell and Alienware as well as rigs from many
specialized gaming PC manufacturers. It is also sold as a separate
add-in-card product for gamers through e-tail and retail channels. Bigfoot
Networks has also recently released new software for Killer Xeno Pro gaming
network cards, providing additional features, improved performance and
Windows 7 compatibility.

"Bigfoot Networks has taken all the necessary steps to solidify its market
position and prepare for future growth," said Cali Tran, principal at North
Bridge Venture Partners. "It has created new international sales channels,
extended its business model into OEM licensing and recruited world-class
executives. We believe Bigfoot Networks is well-positioned to become the top
worldwide supplier of networking products and technologies for gaming and
real-time Internet applications."

"This has been a transformational year for Bigfoot Networks," said Bigfoot
CEO Michael Howse. "We strengthened our products, partner relationships and
team. Wayne Dunlap completes our management team and brings us extraordinary
expertise in networking technology. We are privileged to have Greg Ballard
join our board of directors, and will benefit from his experience as one of
the most respected executives in the consumer technology industry. Bigfoot
Networks now has all the right assets in place, and we look forward to
reaping the benefits in 2010 and beyond."