Coriant
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications equipment |
| Predecessor | Siemens Optical Networks (NSN ON) |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Fate | Acquired by Infinera in 2018 |
| Successor | Infinera |
| Headquarters | Chelmsford, Massachusetts , United States |
Area served | Global |
| Products | Optical transport technologies |
| Owner | Marlin Equity Partners (2013–2018) |
| Parent | Infinera (since 2018) |
Coriant was founded in 2013 as an independent entity spun off from Siemens Optical Networks (NSN ON). The company made its debut at OFC/NFOEC in March 2013 and officially separated from Nokia Siemens Networks on May 6, 2013, becoming a standalone firm under the ownership of Marlin Equity Partners.
Soon after its establishment, Coriant combined with Sycamore Networks—previously acquired by Marlin Equity in January 2013 and headquartered in Chelmsford, Massachusetts—which then operated as Coriant America Inc. Following this, Marlin Equity consolidated Coriant with Tellabs, acquired in December 2013 and based in Naperville, Illinois, retaining the Coriant brand. Subsequently, the telecommunications and GPON divisions were divested into a new company also named Tellabs.
In 2018, Infinera purchased Coriant for $430 million, thereby broadening Infinera’s offerings in optical transport technologies.
History
Coriant traces its roots to Siemens' Transmission Technology division located in Munich, Germany. The technology advanced from Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) to Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) at the STM-4/STM-16 (2.5 Gbit/s) transmission levels.
During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology emerged, allowing data transmission capacities to reach terabit-per-second scales. This development, also referred to as optical transport network (OTN), established standardized frameworks for multiplexing and encapsulation hierarchies.