Sycamore Networks headed to tech industry graveyard

24.10.2012
Sycamore Networks (NASDAQ--SCMR), whose optical switches and telecom software have powered carrier networks around the world since 1998, says it is shutting down. The company is selling off assets of its Intelligent Bandwidth Management business to a subsidiary of Marlin Equity Partners and may sell off or liquidate its other assets, including its IQStream mobile optimization technology.

Sycamore, co-founded with MIT researchers by the well-known entrepreneur Desh Deshpande, went public in 1999 and reached a market capitalization of $18 billion. The company, oft-described as "once high flying" in its obits this week, now has a market cap of $166 million, and its stock price has fallen to under $6, whereas it once lived in the $20s and $30s.

this week is littered with farewells and sad good-byes from those who worked at or with the company. On a personal note, I recall Deshpande and CEO Dan Smith, along with colleagues, attending a monthly schmoozefest I used to run with a local VC at North Bridge Venture Partners and basking in the exciting growth local telecom and enterprise switching just before the dot-com bubble began to burst.

Years later, Sycamore was hit hard by the 2008 economic downturn and never recovered, piling up mounting losses, including nearly $13 million in fiscal 2012.

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