NetFabric, an ETH Zurich spin-off pioneering advancements in network observability, announced the successful closure of a €2 million pre-seed funding round. The investment, led by Founderful and Playfair Capital, marks a significant milestone in NetFabric’s mission to transform the landscape of network monitoring.
The funding will drive the development of NetFabric’s groundbreaking network observability platform, accelerating development to meet the evolving needs of a $197 billion industry increasingly dependent on robust network performance; simultaneously, NetFabric is expanding its team and seeking candidates for key roles, while inviting potential design partners to reach out for collaboration.
While the network monitoring industry grapples with persistent challenges, downtime remains a critical issue for enterprises worldwide. The financial repercussions of network outages are staggering, with even short disruptions translating into multimillion-dollar losses. For instance, Amazon reported a $34 million revenue loss from just one hour of downtime in 2021. Beyond revenue losses, downtime disrupts operations, ties up skilled engineers in troubleshooting tasks, and jeopardizes customer trust.
“Current monitoring tools only provide basic insights into the complex inner workings of networks,” explained Prof. Laurent Vanbever, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of NetFabric. “They often rely on fragmented data sources, leading to false positives and inadequate problem resolution. Consequently, these tools frequently fail to deliver timely and accurate insights into network issues.”
As a result, extensive manual troubleshooting is often necessary to pinpoint the root causes of problems, requiring engineers to spend considerable time deciphering alerts and navigating misleading signals. This not only prolongs downtime but also exacerbates operational inefficiencies.
NetFabric is set to disrupt the industry, tackling these challenges with a groundbreaking approach to network observability. Unlike traditional solutions, NetFabric seamlessly merges observations coming from a wide range of network sources (such as routing information, forwarding tables, device configurations, or logs) into one coherent knowledge base. As a result, it delivers actionable intelligence, offering a comprehensive and accurate understanding of network issues while effectively managing the flood of alerts from conventional tools.
This dual approach allows NetFabric to innovate on both fronts, offering a comprehensive view of large, complex networks, incorporating all relevant data sources, and providing precise alerts when issues arise. By minimizing false-positive alerts and optimizing resource allocation, organizations can mitigate downtime risks and maintain operational continuity.
“Our mission is to empower enterprises with a comprehensive understanding of their networks,” said Benjamin Bichsel, Co-founder and CEO of NetFabric. “By eliminating the guesswork in network troubleshooting, we enable businesses to redirect engineering resources towards innovation and growth.”
NetFabric is powered by a team of experts with deep expertise in network monitoring and AI. Co-founders Dr. Tobias Bühler and Prof. Laurent Vanbever bring more than a decade of research experience in analyzing computer networks, complemented by Dr. Benjamin Bichsel and Prof. Martin Vechev, whose contributions in AI and programming paradigms have earned global recognition. Marlene Brakhane and Boris Paskalev round out the team with extensive business acumen and a successful track record in entrepreneurship.
