Key Takeaways
- • Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) announced on October 21, 2021 that it will expand its corporate venture program, Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, to accelerate its edge-to-cloud strategy, with plans to significantly ramp its rate of investment over the next year.
- • Pathfinder made three new investments: Cellwize (RAN automation for 5G), vFunction (application modernization for containerized environments), and SingleStore (unified, low-latency database).
- • Pathfinder Vice President and Head Paul Glaser said the increased investment rate will enhance HPE's engagement with the venture-backed ecosystem, while CSO Hang Tan described Pathfinder as a critical component of HPE's 'Buy-Build-Partner' innovation strategy.
- • The release does not disclose investment amounts, valuations, or fund size.
Summary
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) announced plans to expand Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, its venture capital program, in support of its edge-to-cloud strategy, according to a Business Wire press release datelined Houston. The company said Pathfinder expects to significantly ramp its rate of investment over the next year, beginning with three new investments that address customer challenges across edge, cloud, and data.
Paul Glaser, Vice President and Head of Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, said the increased investment rate will allow HPE to deepen engagement with the venture-backed ecosystem and better support the company's vision of becoming the edge-to-cloud company. He added that the new portfolio companies will be evaluated by HPE technologists before being brought to customers as integrated edge-to-cloud solutions.
Pathfinder's model, as described by the company, involves investing in category-leading start-ups, integrating their technologies with the HPE product portfolio, and building joint go-to-market programs. The unit also monitors longer-horizon disruptive innovation to help keep HPE at the leading edge.
The three recent investments are Cellwize, a Radio Access Network automation platform that helps telecommunications companies accelerate 5G deployment and improve returns on network investment, which HPE says complements its Communications Technology Group offerings; vFunction, which helps companies modernize legacy applications into containerized, lightweight microservices environments and may explore collaboration within the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform ecosystem; and SingleStore, a unified database offering low-latency, consistent queries across hybrid, on-premises, and cloud environments, which HPE will evaluate adding to the HPE Ezmeral Marketplace.
Hang Tan, SVP and Chief Strategy Officer of HPE, said Pathfinder is a critical component of the company's 'Buy-Build-Partner' innovation strategy and has a strong track record of informing strategy while delivering top-quartile industry returns. The release did not disclose the dollar amounts of the investments.
Paul Glaser, Vice President and Head of Hewlett Packard Pathfinder, said the increased investment rate will allow HPE to deepen engagement with the venture-backed ecosystem and better support the company's vision of becoming the edge-to-cloud company. He added that the new portfolio companies will be evaluated by HPE technologists before being brought to customers as integrated edge-to-cloud solutions.
Pathfinder's model, as described by the company, involves investing in category-leading start-ups, integrating their technologies with the HPE product portfolio, and building joint go-to-market programs. The unit also monitors longer-horizon disruptive innovation to help keep HPE at the leading edge.
The three recent investments are Cellwize, a Radio Access Network automation platform that helps telecommunications companies accelerate 5G deployment and improve returns on network investment, which HPE says complements its Communications Technology Group offerings; vFunction, which helps companies modernize legacy applications into containerized, lightweight microservices environments and may explore collaboration within the HPE GreenLake edge-to-cloud platform ecosystem; and SingleStore, a unified database offering low-latency, consistent queries across hybrid, on-premises, and cloud environments, which HPE will evaluate adding to the HPE Ezmeral Marketplace.
Hang Tan, SVP and Chief Strategy Officer of HPE, said Pathfinder is a critical component of the company's 'Buy-Build-Partner' innovation strategy and has a strong track record of informing strategy while delivering top-quartile industry returns. The release did not disclose the dollar amounts of the investments.
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