University of Bristol spin-out businesses Zeetta Networks and KETS Quantum Security have won a major venture capital initiative which will provide them with access to investors with funds totalling £125m.
Teams from the two firms pitched their ideas to a panel of experts from BT, Deutsche Telekom, Facebook, Orange and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) at the BT Tower, where they became the first small and medium sized businesses to be admitted into the UK Telecom Infra Project Ecosystem Acceleration Centre (TEAC).
Zeetta provides solutions in software defined networking (SDN) for smart city/campus and telecom operators while KETS has developed the world’s first quantum secured encryption technology – in an integrated platform – to boost security in sectors ranging from finance to government and defence,
The companies will now gain access to a pool of investors with £125m in venture capital funding as well as support and expertise to help develop new innovative technologies aimed at boosting global connectivity, improving network user experience and lowering the overall cost of network infrastructure.
Both have been supported by SETsquared, the business incubator supported by the University of Bristol, to help develop the technology further, explore potential uses and how it can be licensed to industry.
The TEAC initiative, based at BT Lab facilities in London’s Tech City and Adastral Park, Suffolk, is part of TIP, which was founded last year by EE, Deutsche Telekom, Facebook, Nokia, Intel and SK Telecom.
TIP is a global movement comprising more than 450 operators, infrastructure providers, system integrators, and other technology companies who want to challenge and transform the traditional approach to building and deploying telecoms network infrastructure.
In addition to providing visibility and access to funding, the TEAC will be a space for participants to learn how to adapt their solutions to the real operational requirements for rapidly developing areas of network infrastructure such as quantum networking, mission-critical communications, artificial intelligence and programmable networks.
University of Bristol vice-chancellor and president Prof Hugh Brady said: “This is a fantastic achievement by two university spin-out companies. Gaining access to the TEAC programme represents a major step forward for Zeetta Networks and KETS Quantum Security by bringing their innovative technologies to market more rapidly. Being part of this global investor network will ensure they are at the forefront of UK digital infrastructure.”
Dr Reza Nejabati, reader in optical networks in the university’s High-Performance Networks (HPN) Group and one of the founders of Zeetta Networks, added: “The software technology originally developed by the HPN Group and commercialised by Zeetta Networks as NetOS® can potentially revolutionise network infrastructure the same way that Google Android and Apple iOS did for mobile phones. These technologies will hide the complexity of optical and wireless networks and open them up for traditional programmers and application developers to create new type of internet services.”
CEO of KETS CEO Chris Erven, who is also deputy director of the university’s Quantum Technology Enterprise Centre (QTEC), added: “This is a fantastic opportunity for KETS and for the future of quantum encryption technologies developed in Bristol with the support of the Quantum Communications Hub, a key part of the UK’s National Quantum Technology Programme.
“We are extremely excited about our involvement in the TEAC initiative and the rapid development of our technology into solutions that will underpin the integrity of the UK’s future telecommunications infrastructure.”
Pictured, from left: Research assistant at University of Bristol Mayur Channegowda and CEO of Zeetta Networks Vassilis Seferidis
