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Avanex

Avanex

In 1997, a brilliant engineer named Simon Cao had a unique insight. An expert at manipulating light, Simon conceived of a new way to cut the spacing between wavelengths in a dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) optical transmission system from the current state-of-the-art of 100 GHz to 50GHz. This doubled the information carrying capacity of the optical fibers around the globe at a time when the Internet backbone was struggling to meet burgeoning demand. With seed financing from Sequoia Capital, Simon founded Avanex to commercialize his “interleaving filter”. An aggressive revenue ramp powered by large scale deployments at MCI, AT&T, and Verizon powered Avanex to a successful public offering under the ticker symbol AVNX.

In late April 2009 the Bookham and Avanex Corporations announced that they had merged, creating what they hoped would be one of the largest suppliers of optical components, modules and subsystems for telecommunications. The newly combined company was named Oclaro.

  • Founded: 1997
  • Round Partnered: Seed
  • Year Partnered: 1998
  • Fund: Prior Investments
  • Clear Partner(s): Chris Rust
  • Status: IPO
  • Date of IPO: 2000
  • Ticker Symbol: AVNX
  • Market Cap at IPO: $ 2,374,560,000
  • Peak Market Cap: $ 11,692,982,840
“ Chris is a superb resource for entrepreneurs and early-stage ventures. He has great strategic insight, a deep understanding of technology, and an abundance of startup experience to share. Chris actively supports his portfolio companies to hone their strategies, clarify their positioning & differentiation, and build out their leadership teams. Chris was a key contributor in the early days at Avanex, where he served as acting Director of Product Management and Board Observer, resulting in a highly successful IPO that returned over $1B to the initial investors. ”
David Parker, VP Product Management
“ I worked closely with Chris and the other Avanex (NASDAQ: AVNX) founders from the earliest stages of the company's life. Together we defined the key deliverables, go-to-market strategy, and product launch plans that resulted in an aggressive revenue ramp and a successful IPO. His leadership nurtured and motivated the team, and gained everyone's respect. Chris is a trustworthy, respectful, and entrepreneur-friendly investor. His strong technical background and practical operating insights helped us achieve our goals. ”
Shoa-Kai Liu, VP Technology

News

TEAM

  • Nigel Duffy

    Founder

  • Simon Wilkinson

    Head of Engineering

  • Ryan McMahon

    Chief of Staff

Results Matter, Success Counts

Four of the companies our team co-founded produced over $1.7 billion of market cap from 2 IPOs and 2 acquisitions.

The Clear investment team has funded over 70 companies, 90% as the first investors, and has had 54 exits valued at a $85 billion market cap.

Before we became VCs, we had already founded 5 successful companies.

Portfolio Breakdown

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