Juniper Networks said it will acquire 128 Technology for $450 million in a move that will give it more artificial intelligence-based features through its networking portfolio.
The company said it will it will acquire 128 Technology with cash and assumption of equity awards. Juniper said 128 Technology issued retention focused restricted stock units that’ll be assumed by Juniper.
Juniper has been beefing up its AI expertise and portfolio via acquisitions. In 2019, Juniper bought Mist Systems for $405 million. Since the purchase of Mist, Juniper has been adding AI networking tools for its portfolio and analytics.
The 128 Technology deal is expected to close in Juniper’s fiscal fourth quarter and to add slightly to fiscal 2021 revenue, but dilutive to non-GAAP earnings. 128 Technology will reside in Juniper’s AI Driven Enterprise business unit. 128 Technology as 120 employees, more than 300 customers and about $120 million in annual revenue.
According to Juniper, the plan is to combine 128 Technology’s Session Smart networking with its campus and branch portfolio and its Mist AI platform. The two companies will aim to use AI to optimize the network and user experiences for voice, 5G and collaboration.
128 Technology’s platform bases networking decisions on real-time user sessions and business policies instead of static systems. Juniper will integrate 128 Technology with its WAN Assurance software with plans to offer AIOps, anomaly detection, security and self-driving networks.
