Folsom's SynapSense Snags $16 Million for Expansion

July 21, 2011

Folsom-based data center management firm SynapSense Corp. has secured $16 million in financing to expand its operations.

SynapSense leaders on Wednesday said the financing will allow the company to hire new engineers, project managers, sales and service staffers, as well as expand product development and its reach in the global market.

"The business is growing extremely nicely right now. Not only are we extending our sales reach, but we're adding head count," said SynapSense President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Van Deventer.

"We're hiring a significant number of people. We're adding people at a very rapid clip, and many will be local," he said.

The privately held firm would not disclose details of its current staffing or its hiring plans.

The firm struck gold with wireless systems to monitor and cut data centers' energy use, a solution that caught the attention of a host of investors including GE Energy Financial Services, Nth Power, Sequoia Capital and San Francisco-based Cross- link Capital, the lead investor. It was the third round of investment capital the company has raised.

Crosslink Capital is a key investor in Internet radio service Pandora, owning a 23 percent share in the online venture. As part of the financing agreement announced Wednesday, Crosslink partner Louis DiNardo joins SynapSense's board of directors.

"SynapSense is on a steep growth trajectory and we are thrilled to join the company and its existing investors," DiNardo said in a statement.

With DiNardo, SynapSense gets someone with "an operating CEO background. He brings knowledge and experience to the table," Van Deventer said.

SynapSense has received millions of dollars from investors since its founding in 2006 with the data center management technology developed at University of California, Davis, where Van Deventer serves on a College of Engineering advisory board and co-founder Raju Pandey is an associate professor and an expert in wireless technology.

"The genesis came out of UC Davis. It's a real success story for the school," Van Deventer said.

SynapSense has customers in numerous industries including aerospace, health care, finance and utilities seeking ways to manage data and costs.

Van Deventer said SynapSense also has plans to expand from its present 15,000- square-foot Iron Point Road facility to as much as 40,000 square feet in the next two years, either in Folsom or another Sacramento-area site.

SYNAPSENSE CORP."The business is growing extremely nicely right now. Not only are we extending our sales reach, but we're adding head count."

PETER VAN DEVENTER
SynapSense president and chief executive officer

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By Darrell Smith
dvsmith@sacbee.com
Call The Bee's Darrell Smith, (916) 321-1040
Published: Thursday, Jul. 21, 2011 - 12:00 am | Page 6B
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