Jasomi Networks

Jasomi Networks

Company type	Private
Industry	Networking hardware, telecommunications
Founded	2001
Founder	Cullen Jennings, David A. Bryan, Dan Freedman
Headquarters	Santa Clara, California , United States
Area served	Telecommunications networks, carrier infrastructures, enterprise networks, residential environments, Internet
Products	Session Border Controllers (SBCs) – PeerPoint product line
Number of employees	Not specified
Parent	Ditech Communications (acquired 2005)

Jasomi Networks was among the first companies to create Session Border Controllers (SBCs), specialized network appliances designed to handle multimedia communication streams across carrier infrastructures, enterprise networks, residential environments, and the Internet.

History and evolution

Established in 2001 by Cullen Jennings, David A. Bryan, and Dan Freedman following initial brainstorming sessions, Jasomi began with funding from its founders and early team member Benjamin Freedman. The firm rapidly produced a working SBC prototype, which was introduced as the PeerPoint product line at the VON conference in Fall 2001.

The early enthusiasm prompted Freedman and Jennings to contribute additional personal capital. In early 2002, an R&D office was opened in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, with Alan Hawrylyshen joining the team. That year was dedicated to transforming the prototype into a comprehensive commercial product. Midway through 2002, Ryan Kereliuk and Johnson Wu became part of the company, which embraced a hybrid coopetition strategy—maintaining proprietary innovations while sharing certain components through the open-source reSIProcate SIP stack. David A. Bryan left the company late in 2002, with Hawrylyshen stepping into the CTO role.

Between 2002 and 2004, Jasomi pushed SBC capabilities forward by supporting VoIP functionality through NAT-enabled firewalls, enabling service for residential users without requiring hardware on-site. Among its prominent clients was Jeff Pulver’s Free World Dialup, which provided free global calling via the SIP VoIP protocol.

In 2005, Jasomi was acquired by Ditech Communications (which was subsequently purchased by Nuance Communications) in a transaction valued at $20 million.

Investment

Jasomi distinguished itself by avoiding conventional venture capital routes, initially relying on funding from its founders and later on contributions from friends and family. The company secured approximately $2.8 million in total financing, mostly raised shortly before acquisition. This contrasts sharply with competitors such as Acme Packet and Kagoor Networks, which each attracted around $40 million in funding, and Netrake with about $70 million. Jasomi primarily financed operations through customer-generated revenue, exemplifying a bootstrapped startup approach.

Performance

Capital limitations restricted Jasomi’s capacity to expand its workforce and sales operations, positioning it third in the market behind Acme Packet and Kagoor Networks, according to Infonetics research. Nonetheless, by 2005, Jasomi had earned recognition as a leading innovator within the SBC sector due to its continuous technological advancements.

Partnership with Microsoft

A mutual client led to collaboration between Jasomi and Microsoft to integrate PeerPoint with Live Communications Server. Despite typical challenges faced by large corporations working with smaller firms, Jasomi adapted its solution to support Microsoft’s proprietary extensions of the SIP, facilitating deployments advantageous to both parties.

Acquisition

By early 2005, Jasomi’s technological accomplishments, compact scale, and limited financial resources made it an attractive acquisition target. Mid-2005 saw Ditech Communications (later acquired by Nuance Communications), a publicly traded Silicon Valley company, purchase Jasomi for $24.55 million. This transaction delivered returns to both investors and employees while providing Ditech with a credible entry into the VoIP sector. Todd Simpson, Jasomi’s CEO at the time of acquisition, assumed leadership of Ditech one year later.

Although substantial in size, investor returns from this deal were similar in percentage terms to those realized by industry leader Acme Packet. The three leading pure-play SBC firms—Acme Packet, Kagoor Networks, and Jasomi—all generated positive investor outcomes, unlike many others in the SBC industry that succumbed to market challenges.

Following acquisition, attempts to merge Jasomi’s offerings into Ditech’s product suite did not succeed. Under CEO Tim Montgomery’s leadership, investment in PeerPoint’s technical innovation and market growth waned. Within two years, key personnel departed, and Ditech shuttered its Canadian branch in September 2007, resulting in most remaining Jasomi employees being laid off. Subsequently, Todd Simpson replaced Montgomery as CEO of Ditech.

External links

• Light Reading – Acquisition of Jasomi by Ditech
• Ditech Networks – company that acquired Jasomi Networks in 2005
• resiprocate – open-source SIP stack initiative co-founded by Jasomi Networks