Startup profile for Nicira Networks: latest funding, latest known valuation, total disclosed funding, investors, status, sources, and why the company is interesting. Part of the Venture Capital Tracker startup directory.
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Nicira Networks funding, valuation and investors

Software-defined networking pioneer (OpenFlow/NVP)—acquired by VMware for $1.26B in 2012.

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Funding, valuation & investors

Answer-first snapshot

Latest funding

Series C

$25.9M · January 2011

Latest known valuation

Not publicly disclosed

Total disclosed equity funding

$37M

Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.

Current status

acquired

acquired · Palo Alto, California

Investors in latest funding

Other: Lightspeed Venture Partners , New Enterprise Associates , Spark Capital

Latest tracked event: Acquired by VMware (July 2012). It is shown separately because it is not counted as disclosed equity funding.

Sources: latest funding Last verified: 2026-07-25

Overview

Nicira Networks, founded by Martin Casado, Nick McKeown, and Scott Shenker, pioneered software-defined networking (SDN) with the Network Virtualization Platform (NVP) and OpenFlow contributions—decoupling network control from hardware. The Palo Alto company raised Series B funding led by Andreessen Horowitz ($11.3M, 2010) and Series C ($25.9M, 2011) with Lightspeed Venture Partners, NEA, and Spark Capital per TechCrunch. In July 2012, VMware acquired Nicira for $1.26 billion in cash and stock—among the largest networking acquisitions of its era—integrating NVP into VMware's data center virtualization stack and launching NSX.

Why Nicira Networks is interesting

Martin Casado's SDN thesis broke Cisco's hardware moat; a16z, Lightspeed, NEA, and Spark backed the company that defined network virtualization before VMware paid $1.26B.

Product & use cases

Nicira NVP virtualized network switching and security policies in software—enabling programmatic control for cloud data centers independent of underlying hardware.

  • Multi-tenant cloud network isolation
  • Automated network provisioning for virtualized data centers
  • OpenFlow-based programmable switching in hyperscale environments

Key facts

  • VMware acquisition Jul 2012: $1.26B (TechCrunch)
  • Series B (2010): $11.3M led by a16z
  • Series C (2011): $25.9M; Lightspeed, NEA, Spark (TechCrunch)
  • Martin Casado co-founded; later General Partner at a16z

Funding history (newest first)

Acquired by VMware

2012-07 $1.26B

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/23/vmware-acquires-nicira-for-1-26-billion/

Series C

2011-01 $25.9M

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2011/01/06/nicira-raises-25-9m-for-software-defined-networking/

Series B

2010-09 $11.3M

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2010/09/08/nicira-networks-raises-11-3m-for-software-defined-networking/

Investors in our directory

Funds linked from Nicira Networks's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.

Andreessen Horowitz Lightspeed Venture Partners New Enterprise Associates (NEA) Spark Capital

Competitive landscape

Edge: Founding team included OpenFlow academic architects; a16z led early VC rounds as SDN shifted from research to production deployments.

Nicira validated SDN as category and delivered landmark VMware exit. Cisco and cloud providers eventually absorbed SDN concepts; Nicira brand disappeared into NSX but founders shaped a decade of data center architecture.

  • Cisco ACI / traditional networking incumbent

    Hardware-centric networking Nicira sought to displace.

  • Big Switch Networks direct

    SDN startup peer in same era.

  • VMware NSX (post-acqui) incumbent

    Acquirer productized Nicira tech as NSX.

Notable stories

  • Casado's Stanford research underpinned OpenFlow—academic roots to billion-dollar exit.
  • VMware deal simultaneously announced with broader SDN strategy—shocked networking incumbents (2012 press).
  • Casado joined a16z as GP after exit—rare founder-to-investor path at same firm that backed company.

Industries

Infrastructure & Cloud Enterprise SaaS Developer Tools

Related funding articles

Venture Capital Tracker pieces that cover Nicira Networks's financing or category context.

FAQs about Nicira Networks

Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.

Nicira pioneered software-defined networking with NVP—virtualizing data center networks in software.
VMware acquired Nicira in July 2012 for $1.26 billion.
Andreessen Horowitz (/fund/andreessen-horowitz) led Series B; Lightspeed, NEA, and Spark joined later rounds.
Software-defined networking separates control plane from hardware—Nicira's core innovation area.
Martin Casado, Nick McKeown, and Scott Shenker co-founded Nicira.
Nicira virtualized networks in software; Cisco sold hardware-centric switching—SDN threatened that model.
Integrated into VMware NSX network virtualization product.
$1.26 billion in cash and stock per 2012 announcement.
Palo Alto, California.
Casado became a16z general partner after Nicira exit—check a16z site for current status.
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