Today (Tuesday), Israeli network and security startup Ananda Networks launches Ananda Secure Global LAN (SG-LAN), which is a cloud-managed platform where organizations can simply create and customize their own private networks, authorize and connect any users, devices, or cloud services they want while maintaining total network security.

Furthermore, the company announced a $6 million Seed funding round led by MizMaa Ventures, Citrix Systems, Gefen Capital, Cyber Mentor Fund, GreatPoint Ventures, South Korean cybersecurity firm Jiran, J-Ventures, and private investors.

"Secure access to all cloud and on-prem resources..."

Ananda Networks customers can use the network for all their distributed workforce needs, such as connecting remote engineering teams to development environments on-prem or on multiple clouds, connecting employees to SaaS applications for increased performance and security, and replacing complex and expensive VPN, MPLS, SD-WAN and other legacy, centralized solutions with one more fit to the times.

“We are excited to be an early investor in Ananda Networks; today, more than ever, we recognize that users and organizations need to stay connected,” said Rick Kaplan, partner at MizMaa Ventures. “Ananda Networks is transforming the old networking and security models. Companies can now extend their perimeter to allow easier, faster and more secure access to all cloud and on-prem resources for remote, mobile, and branch users.”

Ananda puts a focus on reinventing the network, adapting organizational connectivity to a distributed workforce, and all in an easy-to-use customized cloud-managed platform that’s a literal plug-and-play solution replacing the legacy options of before (VPNs, SD-WAN, and MPLS).

When looking deeper into the technology, it’s noticeable that speed is key. Ananda utilizes machine-learning to connect any two nodes on the network optimally without backhauling traffic or forcing it through proxies, and leverages advanced communication protocols to provide unmatched performance and up to 60 times faster speed. Moreover, by enabling organizations to create their own private network, Ananda’s product delivers end-to-end encryption without entrusting communication to a third party, and provides native zero-trust networking and micro-segmentation.

“We are seeing a generational shift toward a fully distributed workforce. However, while the world has changed, our network hasn’t. To meet their connectivity and security challenges, organizations have to put band-aid over band-aid, while experiencing lower performance and security with higher cost and complexity. Ananda is rebuilding the network from the ground up to solve the core problem rather than its symptoms,” said Adi Ruppin, co-founder and CEO of Ananda Networks. “We are proud to be able to help people and organizations stay connected in these difficult times and to enjoy the highest level of speed, security, and simplicity, as if they are all on the same local area network. By doing so, we are realizing our mission to bring the world network bliss!”

Based in San Fransisco Ananda Networks was founded in 2019 by CEO Adi Ruppin and Chief Joy Officer Elad Rave. The two are serial entrepreneurs from the networking and security sectors, with Ruppin co-founding and serving as an executive in firewall/UTM pioneer SofaWare Technologies (acquired by Check Point Software), file sync pioneer BeInSync (acquired by Phoenix Technologies), and WatchDox, a developer of secure enterprise file sharing solutions (acquired by BlackBerry); and Rave previously founded cloud WAN provider Teridion, Oxygen CG, TheServerExpress, Partenos and Elenxos.