Scale Computing Raised $5 Million

Scale Computing, a developer and manufacturer of TrueCluster data storage technology, will relocate its headquarters and begin building its operations in Indiana with the help of state entrepreneurship grants.

The company, currently headquartered in San Carlos, California, will move its Silicon Valley operations to Indiana with the help of a $2 million grant from Indiana’s 21st Century Research and Technology Fund.

“We couldn’t be happier that this high-tech company has chosen Indiana as the base of its operations,” said Mitch Roob, Secretary of Commerce and chief executive officer, Indiana Economic Development Corporation. “The potential for high-skill, high-wage jobs created by Scale Computing, and companies like it, is the exact reason the 21st Century Fund exists.”

Scale Computing’s enterprise storage solution, TrueCluster, has driven the company’s recent growth. Based on cloud computing technologies, Scale’s TrueCluster technology yields an in-house enterprise-class storage system that reduces costs by up to 75 percent compared to traditional enterprise storage solutions. The technology represents a shift in the way enterprise storage is handled, but maintains seamless compatibility with the existing systems and software that use storage arrays.

“Indiana has a wealth of talent and a burgeoning technology sector that is somewhat undiscovered,” said Jeff Ready, founder and CEO, Scale Computing. “When combined with the forward-thinking aggressiveness of the IEDC, the state became an attractive alternative to Silicon Valley. We look forward to growing our company here and returning a significant investment back to the people and State of Indiana.”

Scale Computing’s TrueCluster technology allows users to add storage hardware, known as storage nodes, as necessary without suspending services or migrating data. Additional nodes immediately integrate into the cluster of storage nodes, which acts as a single file system scalable to more than 2.2 petabyte (PB). Scale’s TrueCluster storage nodes are popular in the healthcare industry, as they significantly lower the cost of virtual desktop implementation.

Scale’s enterprise storage technology received the top prize at the 2008 Indiana Venture Idol competition, beating out 20 challengers at the event co-sponsored by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and the Indiana Venture Club. In May, the data storage start-up received a Mira Award as the best information technology startup company in Indiana. The award was sponsored by economic advocacy group, TechPoint.

“We chose to lead this funding initiative with the IEDC and Indiana-based venture capitalists because Scale is a very exciting opportunity both for institutional and private investors as well as public funds,” said Don Aquilano, managing director, Blue Chip Venture Company. “We’re confident Scale will generate positive returns for Indiana. I’m looking forward to serving on the company’s board and participating in its growth.” The IEDC grant is part of a $5MM round lead by Blue Chip Venture Company, Spring Mill Venture Partners, and CID Capital.

Scale Computing founders, Ready, Scott Loughmiller and Ehren Maedge met while students at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute. Prior to founding Scale, the trio presided over California companies Radiate Inc. and Corvigo, from founding through acquisition.

Scale Computing is one of 68 businesses awarded a 21st Century Fund grant since January, 2006. During that time, the fund has invested more than $90 million in high-tech Indiana entrepreneurial companies that collectively have the potential to create thousands of new jobs.