# Arman Khalili

> Arman Khalili is an internet infrastructure entrepreneur, the founder and former CEO of Evocative and a continuing board member. His career includes Sirius Connections, NextLayer, MusicBank, UnitedLayer, Black Lotus and CentralColo. He now leads Foundation Data Centers and has taught entrepreneurship and technology subjects.

- **Role:** Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Foundation Data Centers; Founder and Board Member at Evocative
- **Organizations:** Foundation Data Centers, Evocative, Sirius Connections, NextLayer, MusicBank, UnitedLayer, Black Lotus, CentralColo / Element Critical, Industry Capital, Harbor Ridge Capital, San Francisco State University, Blackstart Digital
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, San Francisco State University
- **Known for:** Helped build Evocative’s acquisition-led infrastructure platform during its 2017-2023 growth period., Led Evocative when the September 2022 INAP closing brought its US portfolio to 20 facilities and 108 MW of available power., Co-founded UnitedLayer and remained with the business through its 2010 sale.

## Career timeline

- **1993-1998** — Co-founder and VP of Sales and Service at Sirius Connections, according to his XING professional history.
- **2000-2001** — Founded secure email business NextLayer, according to his professional history.
- **2001** — Co-founded UnitedLayer; also served as MusicBank CTO during this period.
- **2010** — Remained with UnitedLayer through its sale.
- **2011** — Joined Harbor Ridge Capital in an advisory/partner capacity.
- **Before 2017** — Served as Black Lotus CEO, founded CentralColo and worked as an Industry Capital principal.
- **2017** — Became Evocative CEO and a director as it acquired Emeryville and San Jose facilities.
- **2019** — Evocative acquired VPLS, expanding its service capabilities.
- **2022** — Led Evocative during brand consolidation and the closing of nine INAP data center acquisitions.
- **2023** — Moved from Evocative CEO to a continuing board role; announced teaching strategic management and entrepreneurship at San Francisco State.
- **Current** — Founder and CEO of Foundation Data Centers.
- **2026** — Identified as a Blackstart Digital partner in October coverage of the former IBM Almaden campus.

## Achievements

- Helped build Evocative’s acquisition-led infrastructure platform during its 2017-2023 growth period.
- Led Evocative when the September 2022 INAP closing brought its US portfolio to 20 facilities and 108 MW of available power.
- Co-founded UnitedLayer and remained with the business through its 2010 sale.
- Co-founded the early Bay Area ISP Sirius Connections.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — An October 5 Data Center Dynamics report identified Khalili as a Blackstart Digital partner in coverage of the former IBM Almaden research campus.
- **2025-01** — Posted that he looked forward to meeting colleagues at PTC 2025.

## Links

- Website: https://foundationdatacenters.com/fdc
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arman-khalili-333242

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/arman-khalili
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14