HP Acquires Software-defined Networking Startup ConteXtream

HP has acquired ConteXtreme, a California-based startup which sells software-defined networking (SDN) and network-function virtualization (NFV) software, both companies announced on Tuesday.

The financial terms of acquisition are kept under wraps though, but it is reported that the purchase will help the company to explore deeper in the SDN and NFV technologies, the field where the California-based company has its expertise on.

ConteXtreme which was founded back in 2006 was one of the early players in the software-defined networking market. Its products are known to be structured with wireless and MSO networks which expand to over 50 million subscribers.  The privately held software company is backed by $23.8 million in venture funding and is currently based on the open source slates of OpenDaylight which lets the carriers deploy its software into data centers and centralize management of networks.

It was noted that earlier this year, the company has only collaborated in the HP Open NFV Partner Program where ConteXtreme's SDN products were assimilated with HP's NFV software portfolio. However, it seems like HP desires more intimate operations with ConteXtreme as it is already set to acquire the company.

HP claims that its acquisition of the company is a tactic to intensify its collaboration with the OpenDaylight community. Aside from that, HP's purchase will also "further strengthen HP's leadership in the fast-growing NFV market, which some analysts expect to grow to $11B by 2018," as what Saar Gillai, the senior vice president and general manager of NFV at HP, said in a blog post.

Once the acquisition agreement is finalized, ConteXtreme will join HP's Communications Solutions Business. Despite this integration, the current chief executive and co-founder of ConteXtreme Nachman Shelef will still remain as the officer in charge but is expected to directly report to Gillai of the network function virtualization unit.