Juniper Networks Acquires 128 Technology for $450M - AI SD-WAN

Juniper Networks revealed today that it has reached an agreement to acquire 128 Technology, a company specializing in intelligent wide area networking solutions, for a total of $450 million.

This acquisition represents Juniper’s second investment in an artificial intelligence-powered networking firm within the past year and a half, following the purchase of Mist Systems in March 2019 for $405 million. Integrating 128 Technology will expand Juniper’s capabilities in AI-enhanced SD-WAN technology. SD-WAN, which stands for software-defined wide area networks, refers to networks extending across large geographic regions, like branch locations, as opposed to networks confined to a single physical location.

Contemporary networking systems are now leveraging artificial intelligence to automate the management of sessions and policies dynamically, moving away from the limitations of fixed policies that may not always be optimal for every scenario.

In a company blog post detailing the agreement, Manoj Leelanivas, executive vice president and chief product officer, highlighted how 128 Technology will enhance the company’s product offerings as it shifts from traditional networking methods to more advanced, AI-driven approaches, particularly when combined with the capabilities gained from the Mist acquisition.

“The integration of 128 Technology’s innovative software with Juniper’s SD-WAN, WAN Assurance, and Marvis Virtual Network Assistant (powered by Mist AI) will provide customers with a streamlined and efficient route to fully automated, AI-powered WAN management—covering everything from initial setup to continuous AIOps, including tailored service levels, simplified policy implementation, proactive issue identification, fault diagnosis with suggested solutions, autonomous network operation, and AI-supported assistance,” Leelanivas stated in the post.

Founded in 2014, 128 Technologies secured over $96 million in funding, as per data from Crunchbase. Its latest funding round, a $30 million Series D investment, occurred in September 2019 and was spearheaded by G20 Ventures and The Perkins Fund.

Alongside the $450 million purchase price, Juniper has requested that 128 Technology provide retention stock awards to incentivize its employees to remain with the company during the ownership transition. Juniper has committed to upholding these stock awards as part of the acquisition agreement. The transaction is anticipated to be finalized during Juniper’s fourth fiscal quarter, pending standard regulatory approvals.