Intel, Dell And WestSummit Capital Bet $10M On Mirantis OpenStack Cloud

The funding, led by Intel Capital, will be used by Mirantis to extend its reach as a provider of cloud deployments for enterprises under the OpenStack, open-source standard, which uses nonpropriety technologies and products in building cloud stacks.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company is about 10-years-old, but in the last three years it has moved to exclusively work in OpenStack cloud deployments. It counts among its customers such heavy hitters as Cisco, NetApp, AT&T, Gap and PayPal, said Alex Freedland, Mirantis co-founder and executive chairman, in an interview with CRN Friday.

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Intel Capital is partnering with Mirantis both because of the investment potential due to its rapid growth and because of the new markets created for Intel by the growth of OpenStack cloud adoption using Intel-powered servers used, Freedland said.

"By having Intel as a lead investor, we make sure we can work with everyone in the industry," he said.

Mirantis has already become a leader in OpenStack deployment, Lisa Lambert, vice president of Intel Capital and managing director of its Software and Services sector, said in a statement.

"In just a short amount of time, Mirantis has established itself as a key OpenStack systems integrator by helping numerous early adopters realize the value of the open source cloud movement. Intel Capital looks forward to working with its team as it continues to expand its global footprint."

Dell, which announced a partnership with Mirantis in April to build Dell-based cloud services, is promoting its own OpenStack public cloud service along with its channel partners, Freedland said.

"Dell's channel is selling OpenStack, and we are providing technology and services around it to make sure customers can have successful implementations of OpenStack solutions," Freedland said.

Nnamdi Orakwue, vice president of Dell Cloud, said OpenStack is playing a central role in Dell's cloud strategy. "The partnership with Mirantis demonstrates our commitment to the community and our goal of becoming a leading contributor to OpenStack," he said in a statement.

WestSummit Capital, a large Beijing-based venture capital firm with offices in Palo Alto, Calif., will give Mirantis a foothold in China, where OpenStack adoption is growing rapidly, Freedland said. "WestSummit is very well known for helping companies expand in China," he added.

Elise Huang, partner at WestSummit Capital, said the company's investment will be used to help Mirantis become established in the Asia/Pacific market.

"We see tremendous demand for OpenStack in the APAC market and China in particular," Huang said in a statement. "Beijing generates more traffic to the OpenStack.org Website than any other city in the world today, and China hosts some of the largest cloud deployments in the world."

Mirantis is a privately held company and does not release financial information.

PUBLISHED JAN. 11, 2013