Comcast to integrate DriveNets’ technology in a deal worth hundreds of millions
The Israeli company’s software will enhance speed, reliability, and scalability.
American communications giant Comcast will implement Israeli company DriveNets’ technology at the core of its network across the United States. The companies did not disclose the value of the deal, but estimates suggest it is in the hundreds of millions of dollars. DriveNets' solution integrates advanced AI and virtualization capabilities to enhance Comcast's network performance.
As part of the collaboration, Comcast will deploy DriveNets' technology nationwide as part of its strategy to build a new, more efficient network infrastructure for advanced services. The Israeli company's solution will enable Comcast to unify all of its communications networks into a single virtual network, leveraging DriveNets' network software and standard hardware components. The first trial of Comcast's new network using DriveNets’ technology began in Atlanta in September.
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DriveNets founders Ido Susan and Hillel Kobrinsky.
(Photos: Doron Letzter and Bloomberg)
“The five biggest moments ever on our network happened in the final six weeks of 2024. Our customers are consuming more data, faster, than ever before and we’re driving network virtualization and AI innovation to meet and exceed their expectations now and into the future,” said Elad Nafshi, Chief Network Officer at Comcast. “Expanding the Janus trial across our footprint will transform how we manage the flow of Internet traffic to and from customers to maximize network performance, reliability, and efficiency. Leveraging DriveNets Network Cloud allows us to accelerate product innovation and continue to meet the incredible demand.”
DriveNets was founded by Ido Susan (CEO) and Hillel Kobrinsky (chief strategy officer). Susan previously founded Intucell, which was acquired by Cisco in 2013 for $475 million after raising just $6 million. DriveNets currently employs 450 people and is in the process of hiring 100 more. To date, it has raised $587 million, with its most recent funding round in 2022 valuing the company at over $2 billion. Its investors include D2 Investments, Bessemer Venture Partners, Pitango, D1 Capital, Atreides Management, and Harel Investments.
DriveNets’ cloud-based capabilities allow Comcast to independently manage the hardware and software that make up its network, also known as “disaggregation”. Separating these functions unlocks the ability to virtualize every layer of the network – from the core to the edge – and perform those tasks in the cloud. This software-defined approach maximizes network performance, makes it easier to integrate AI-powered self-healing capabilities, enables more dynamic improvements to the customer experience, and is expected to improve efficiency.
“DriveNets Network Cloud enables Comcast to converge and automate its network infrastructure end-to-end so it can scale faster to meet growing service demands,” said Ido Susan, DriveNets founder and CEO. “The combination of our cloud-native software and the adoption of GenAI network operations tools enables Comcast to optimize the network performance, increase network reliability, and introduce new service innovations faster.”
