Mode emerges from stealth with new approach to software-defined WAN and $24 million venture funding

Mode, an enterprise startup and a pioneer of autonomously controlled networks, emerged from stealth today to introduce a new category of private core network for enterprise. The company also announced it has closed an $8 million Series A led by NEA last year, and recently closed a $16 million Series B led by GV, with an additional grant from the National Science Foundation.

Founded in 2013 by Kevin Tang and Nithin Michael, the San Francisco-based Mode operates the world’s highest-performing software-defined core network (SD-CORE), built around a real-time network control breakthrough. Mode was co-founded by two Cornell computer scientists widely recognized for their discovery of the characteristic equations that define modern packet-switched networks, and their subsequent implementation of a mathematically optimal routing system, Mode HALO. Mode Core powers SD-WAN, Cloud Access, Unified Communications (UC), and Ultra Low Latency applications. Mode Core enhances any enterprise WAN by providing reliable, QoS connectivity in combination with cloud elasticity and business-internet pricing. Mode is backed by Google Ventures, NEA and the National Science Foundation.

For decades, researchers have chased the holy grail of closed-loop control for packet-switched networks. Mode was founded by two Cornell computer scientists who succeeded in uncovering this key to the theoretical limit of network performance. Dr. Nithin Michael and Professor Dr. Kevin Tang discovered the characteristic equations that define modern packet-switched networks, and then implemented a mathematically optimal routing system they called Mode HALO.

Mode Core is the first software-defined core network (SD-CORE) to leverage the power of Mode HALO. Mode Core offers enterprises affordable private network reliability and quality of service and can be used in combination with SD-WAN and last-mile internet.

“Today’s hybrid businesses bear the burden of managing multiple networks, because no single network offers the right combination of reliability, cloud flexibility, and internet affordability,” said Mode co-founder Dr. Nithin Michael. “Our breakthrough in routing efficiency allows Mode Core to deliver all three benefits in a single network. Mode Core intelligently shifts traffic in milliseconds, dynamically adjusting to network changes and traffic flows.”

“Enterprises need a simple private networking solution for the cloud,” said Mode CEO Paul Dawes. “Mode has partnered with Ericsson to provide private network coverage for globally distributed offices, as well as direct connectivity to cloud services.”

“If you’ve ever been frustrated by video teleconferencing glitches and drops, you’ll instantly see the value of this technology,” said GV General Partner Dave Munichiello. “Mode delivers seamlessly consistent real-time network connectivity for businesses, enabling remote users to sustain real-time connections to each other and the resources they need. Teleconferences work for everyone. Games stream in real-time without latency. Complex cloud operations feel instantaneous. Mode is raising the bar for enterprise networks at a fraction of the price.”

The National Science Foundation (NSF) helped evaluate Mode HALO on its GENI network testbed and found a 300% increase in throughput at the lowest possible delay between hosts in New York and Sunnyvale. Unlike protocols which relied on heuristics, Mode HALO quickly adapted to dynamic traffic changes without prior knowledge. Mode HALO also won the AT&T SDN Network Design Challenge, delivering a near-optimal solution in thirty seconds for a prototypical carrier network facing rapidly rising dynamic traffic demand.

Mode Core is a global overlay of carrier-grade networks like Ericsson UDN, an edge compute network formed in partnership with nearly 100 service providers worldwide. The result is an autonomous private backbone that complements any enterprise SD-WAN deployment. Mode Core guarantees QoS and SLA-backed reliability for all traffic, including remote offices, mobile users, data centers, and the cloud – for a fraction of the cost of MPLS.

Marcus Bergström, VP and GM Ericsson UDN, describes the Ericsson / Mode ecosystem partnership: “Ericsson’s Unified Delivery Network is the market-leading edge compute platform, enabling global reach for our service provider partners. Mode Core runs on UDN compute and provides best-in-class elasticity and performance for the modern workloads served by UDN. Mode’s software-defined, math-based autonomous routing solution enhances the future of packet-switched networking.”

Unified Communications providers use Mode Core to extend the reach of their own core network, or to obviate the need to build one. Mode Core is also ideal for ultra low latency applications like interactive streaming, multiplayer gaming, real-time machine learning, blockchain, and remote command and control.