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Private company

Forward Networks

Logo: forwardnetworks.com4

American technology company

Forward Networks, Inc. is an American company founded in Palo Alto, California and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The company develops enterprise software for network management and software-defined networking.3 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

  • HeadquartersLos Altos, California1
  • Websiteforwardnetworks.com
  • Incorporated inDE5
  • Business address5050 El Camino Real, Suite 226, Los Altos, Ca 940225
  • Legal formCorporation

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Forward Networks, Inc. is an American company founded in Palo Alto, California and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The company develops enterprise software for network management and software-defined networking.3

The story

Forward Networks was founded by David Erickson, Nikhil Handigol, Brandon Heller, and Peyman Kazemian, who met as Ph.D researchers at Stanford University. While operating software-defined networking deployments running OpenFlow at the university, Erickson, Handigol, Heller, and Kazemian built a software platform based on Kazemian's research at Stanford for his electrical engineering dissertation. Kazemian's research enabled the use of configuration data and operational state information from devices on a network to create a virtual copy of that network.

Until November 2016, the company operated in stealth mode and raised $16 million in funding by DFJ, with participation from Andreesen Horowitz.

In October 2019 the company raised $35 million in Series C funding led by Goldman Sachs, also a customer of the company.

In January 2023, following 139% year-over-year growth, Forward Networks announced it closed $50M in Series D funding. The round was led by MSD Partners with support from new investors, Section 32 and Omega Venture Partners.

Forward Networks' other customers include PayPal, Ubisoft, and Telstra.

From Wikipedia’s article on Forward Networks, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.6

Leadership

Named in SEC Form D filings

People the company listed in its private-offering notices.

  • Executive Officer, DirectorDavid Erickson named Jan 25, 20237
  • Executive OfficerNikhil Handigol named Jan 25, 20237
  • DirectorAndreas Stavropoulos named Jan 25, 20237
  • DirectorBrandon Heller named Jan 25, 20237
  • DirectorJoshua Matheus named Jan 25, 20237
  • DirectorL. William Krause named Jan 25, 20237
  • DirectorVictor Hwang named Jan 25, 20237

Products and brands

Intent-based networking (IBN), a term coined by Gartner in 2017 describes a system designed to automate a network lifecycle from design and implementation to deployment and validation.

Forward Networks' technology focuses on verification with regards to intent-based networking. The platform generates a mathematical model of the network to perform functions such as composing timestamped collections of network configurations and state information of a network infrastructure. The product is marketed as a network assurance platform called Forward Enterprise.

From Wikipedia’s article on Forward Networks, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.6

Filings

1 filings to the SEC since October 2021: 1 private raises. The latest 1:

  1. Jan 25, 2023D EDGAR

Every filing from the last five years, summarized. The full record is on SEC EDGAR.

Funding

Where the company's money came from, by calendar year: private offerings filed with the SEC, federal grants, loans, contracts and other assistance from USAspending.gov, and PPP loans from the SBA. Each bar links to the records below.

Money received by year$50.0M 2022–2022
Money received by yearMoney received by year, 2022–2022: $50.0M in all. Private raises (Form D) $50.0M.$0$20M$40M$60M2022 · Private raises (Form D): $50.0M2022
Figures by year
YearPrivate raises (Form D)Total
2022$50.0M$50.0M

Private raises

Private offerings the company reported to the SEC on Form D. The amount is what the latest filing says was sold so far, charted in the year of the first sale. Covers filings since Oct 1, 2021.

  1. Dec 9, 2022Raised $50 million in a private offering of equity7 Form D: 12 investors so far Form D

SEC filer profile

How Forward Networks is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, from its EDGAR record and the cover page of its latest annual report.

  • Name on EDGARForward Networks, Inc.2
  • CIK0001623872
  • Employer ID (EIN)46-32657682
  • Incorporated inDelaware2
  • Fiscal year endsDecember 312
  • Business address5050 El Camino Real, Suite 226, Los Altos, CA 940222
  • Phone801-550-60852
  • On EDGAR sinceNov 26, 20142
  • Filings5 in all: D (5)2

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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  4. 4
    Company websiteForward Networks logo
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