Internet co-founder gets $12M more for "flow-based" router

Larry Roberts, credited for co-founding the Internet (as developer of the early ArpaNet), has raised $12 million more in financing for his latest networking company, Anagran.

Roberts is swinging for the fences again, saying he has devised a new “flow-based” networking to get around the limitations of today’s Internet packet technology — something he says is needed for today’s massive transmission of of video, voice and wireless communication.

Swinging for the fences is good, and let’s hope he scores this time. His previous company, Caspian, burned through $317 million in venture capital from firms like US Venture Partners and Oak Investment trying to do pursue the same “flow-based” networking model, before throwing in the towel.

Redwood City’s Anagran released its FR-1000 Flow Router last August, after three years of work. In a statement today, the company says the $12 million will be used to bolster its sales effort.

However, the statement raises questions. It didn’t list any new investors, saying only that its previous investors participated in the round — Argon Capital, ArrowPath Venture Capital and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, which had earlier given it $22 million (our coverage). Usually a company seeks to get a new outside investor to validate the company’s valuation and model, and the absence of an outside investor can suggest lack of confidence in the company. On the flip side, however, existing investors might be so excited about the company they may just want to hold it to themselves. We just don’t know. However, the company also listed no customers. Often funding announcements crow about customer added, but here again, we’re not certain what it means.

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