# Peyman Kazemian

> Peyman Kazemian is the co-founder of Forward Networks, a Santa Clara-based enterprise software company that builds mathematically accurate digital twins of complex networks. His PhD dissertation at Stanford - which became the foundational Header Space Analysis framework - won the NSDI 2024 Test-of-Time Award and directly spawned a company now trusted by Fortune 50 enterprises and U.S. government agencies. A graduate of Sharif University of Technology in Tehran and Stanford's electrical engineering department under Prof. Nick McKeown, Kazemian helped develop OpenFlow and SDN before turning his research into a business that has raised over $140 million to transform how enterprises understand, secure, and manage their networks.

- **Role:** Co-Founder at Forward Networks
- **Organizations:** Forward Networks, Inc., Stanford University, Sharif University of Technology
- **Nationality:** Iranian-American
- **Education:** PhD, Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, B.Sc., Electrical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran
- **Known for:** NSDI 2024 Test-of-Time Award for Header Space Analysis (co-winner with George Varghese and Nick McKeown), Co-created Header Space Analysis (HSA) - the foundational framework for static network verification, Co-developed NetPlumber, a real-time network policy checking tool based on HSA

## Career timeline

- **2007** — Graduated from Sharif University of Technology with B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering; joined Stanford for PhD under Prof. Nick McKeown
- **2008-2012** — Key contributor to the Stanford team developing OpenFlow and Software-Defined Networking (SDN)
- **2012** — Published 'Header Space Analysis: Static Checking for Networks' at NSDI 2012 - a landmark paper in network verification
- **2013** — Published 'Real Time Network Policy Checking Using Header Space Analysis' (NetPlumber) at NSDI 2013
- **2013** — Completed PhD dissertation 'Header Space Analysis' at Stanford; co-founded Forward Networks on July 23, 2013
- **2013-2016** — Forward Networks operated in stealth mode; Kazemian worked at Google and Ericsson and taught SDN Academy courses
- **2016** — Forward Networks emerged from stealth, having raised $16M from DFJ and Andreessen Horowitz
- **2019** — Forward Networks raised $35M Series C led by Goldman Sachs; company valued at $140M
- **2023** — Forward Networks raised $50M Series D led by MSD Partners; total funding exceeded $140M
- **2024** — Received NSDI 2024 Test-of-Time Award for Header Space Analysis paper (with George Varghese and Nick McKeown)

## Achievements

- NSDI 2024 Test-of-Time Award for Header Space Analysis (co-winner with George Varghese and Nick McKeown)
- Co-created Header Space Analysis (HSA) - the foundational framework for static network verification
- Co-developed NetPlumber, a real-time network policy checking tool based on HSA
- Co-founder of Forward Networks, which has raised over $140M in total funding
- Helped develop OpenFlow and Software-Defined Networking while at Stanford
- Forward Networks achieved 139% year-over-year ARR growth (2021-2022)
- Forward Networks serves Fortune 50 companies, Fortune 500 enterprises, and U.S. government agencies
- 25+ industry awards won by Forward Networks

## Latest updates

- **2024-04** — Received the NSDI 2024 Test-of-Time Award for Header Space Analysis, co-authored with George Varghese and Nick McKeown
- **2023-01** — Forward Networks closed $50M Series D funding round led by MSD Partners, bringing total raised to over $140M
- **2023-01** — Forward Networks reported 139% year-over-year ARR growth and 96% customer retention rate

## Links

- Website: https://forwardnetworks.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/peyman-kazemian-3a5326a
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/fwdnetworks
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/forwardnetworks

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/peyman-kazemian
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-24