# Ankur Singla

> Ankur Singla is a three-time founder and serial entrepreneur who has built and exited companies totaling over $676 million in acquisitions. Currently Founder & CEO of Exaforce, an agentic AI-driven Security Operations platform based in San Jose, California, Singla is on a mission to give cybersecurity defenders a 10x productivity advantage. Before Exaforce, he founded Volterra (acquired by F5 Networks for $500M in 2021) and Contrail Systems (acquired by Juniper Networks for $176M in 2012 just nine months after founding). With a background spanning SDN, NFV, edge computing, and now agentic AI, Singla has consistently been at the frontier of enterprise infrastructure. Exaforce raised $75M in Series A funding in April 2025 and $125M in Series B in May 2026, reaching a $725M valuation.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at Exaforce
- **Organizations:** Exaforce, Lumilens, Volterra (acquired by F5), Contrail Systems (acquired by Juniper Networks), F5 Networks, Juniper Networks, Aruba Networks
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Bachelor's Degree, University of Southern California
- **Known for:** Three-time founder with combined exit value exceeding $676 million, Founded Contrail Systems and achieved acquisition by Juniper Networks for $176M just 9 months after founding, Founded Volterra and achieved $500M acquisition by F5 Networks; grew company 300% YoY in 2020

## Career timeline

- **pre-2012** — Served as CTO and Vice President of Engineering at Aruba Networks
- **2012** — Founded Contrail Systems, pioneering telco NFV and SDN technologies
- **2012** — Contrail Systems acquired by Juniper Networks for $176 million - just 9 months after founding
- **2012-2017** — Led Contrail at Juniper Networks post-acquisition
- **2017** — Founded Volterra, building the first universal edge-as-a-service platform for distributed cloud
- **2019** — Raised $50M for Volterra; launched publicly with 30 customers
- **2020** — Volterra achieved 300% year-over-year sales growth
- **2021** — Volterra acquired by F5 Networks for approximately $500 million
- **2021-2022** — Served as SVP/GM of F5's Security Products Group before transitioning to advisory role
- **2023** — Founded Exaforce, building an agentic AI-driven Security Operations platform
- **2025-04** — Exaforce raised $75M Series A led by Khosla Ventures, Mayfield, and Thomvest Ventures
- **2026-05** — Exaforce raised $125M Series B at $725M valuation, led by HarbourVest and Peak XV

## Achievements

- Three-time founder with combined exit value exceeding $676 million
- Founded Contrail Systems and achieved acquisition by Juniper Networks for $176M just 9 months after founding
- Founded Volterra and achieved $500M acquisition by F5 Networks; grew company 300% YoY in 2020
- Pioneered SDN (Software-Defined Networking) and NFV (Network Function Virtualization) technologies that transformed enterprise networking
- Built Exaforce to $725M valuation and $200M total funding with $125M Series B in 2026
- Raised funding from top-tier VCs including Khosla Ventures, Mayfield, Peak XV, HarbourVest
- Founder & Executive Chairman of Lumilens (advanced photonics)

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Exaforce raised $125M Series B at $725M valuation led by HarbourVest and Peak XV; announced global expansion including new Tokyo office
- **2025-04** — Exaforce unveiled $75M Series A funding led by Khosla Ventures, Mayfield, and Thomvest Ventures to build agentic SOC platform

## Links

- Website: https://ankursingla.com/
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ankur-singla-4863801

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ankur-singla
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-13