Edge computing company Vapor IO is one of the fastest growing startups in the industry. The company announced its Kinetic Edge Exchange (KEX) platform in October, which is a software-defined platform that will allow users to connect to other exchange members in their area and adjust bandwidth as needed. Essentially, it makes it easier for operators and providers to connect at the network edge.
This week, Vapor IO announced a $90 million Series C round led by Berkshire Partners and Crown Castle, who has previously invested and partnered with Vapor IO. This brings the company's funding over $100 million. Also recently announced, Cloudflare will be rolling out its cloud services on Vapor IO's Kinetic Edge.
At this point, Vapor IO does two things, both of which are supported by a strong patent portfolio - and it's likely safe to assume there are many pending applications. The company produces data centers which can be deployed at the edge (physical infrastructure) and then hosts the cloud system that allows people to connect and utilize those centers for software platforms.
This new capital will allow Vapor IO to grow well past the four cities where it currently operates (Chicago, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Dallas), planning on building out its platform in 36 markets by 2021 in order to provide edge computing resources in the top 30+ metropolitan areas in the US.
