Forward Networks, which offers tools for network visibility and outage prevention, raises $35M Series C led by Goldman Sachs
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat :
Context & Ripple Effects
Two years after a $16M Series B led by DFJ, Forward Networks is stepping up to a $35M Series C — and the lead check has switched camps from a traditional venture firm to Goldman Sachs. That matters because it fits a pattern: Goldman has spent 2019 systematically leading growth rounds in enterprise networking and security infrastructure, starting with Aryaka's $50M Series F in software-defined connectivity in May.
The cadence continued weeks after this round with Goldman leading Very Good Security's $35M Series B, and extended through Fortress Information Security and Slync.io — making Forward Networks part of a deliberate Goldman portfolio thesis around network reliability, security, and automation tooling rather than a one-off bet.
First-order effects
- Forward Networks gains growth-stage capital to scale its network visibility and outage-prevention platform for enterprise and service-provider customers, with Goldman Sachs taking a lead position in a category it had previously funded only through Aryaka.
- Goldman Sachs adds a second networking-software asset to its growth portfolio, deepening a position it built with the Aryaka round earlier the same year.
Second-order effects
- Rivals converging on unified network operations — such as Versa Networks, which later raised $120M to merge networking and security into a single console — face a better-capitalized competitor selling outage prevention into the same enterprise budgets.
- Goldman's repeated lead-investor role in this category pressures other banks and growth funds to either match its networking-and-security deal flow or cede the segment to one financial sponsor.
Third-order effects
- If Goldman keeps leading rounds across network connectivity, visibility, security, and automation, enterprise network infrastructure consolidates into a de facto Goldman-curated portfolio — with the bank, not traditional VCs, setting which networking platforms get scaled.
- The DFJ-to-Goldman handoff on Forward's cap table points to a structural shift where late-stage enterprise infrastructure funding migrates from venture firms to financial institutions with balance sheets and enterprise client relationships to deploy.
The trend: Growth-stage capital for enterprise networking and security software is consolidating around financial institutions like Goldman Sachs, which is building a portfolio spanning connectivity, visibility, and security platforms.