Investors throw money at storage start-up

Copan Systems is expected to announce on Tuesday that it has received $25 million in venture funding, in one of the largest second rounds of funding a storage company has had in the past two years.

Copan, which develops disk-based storage for long-term data archiving, is seeking to provide an alternative to tape storage, one that has a faster information retrieval rate yet a comparable price.

Interest in storage companies has accelerated, as public companies face new mandates that require them to hold on to information for extended periods of time yet maintain easy access for the first two years.

"Our customers are moving data into 60-day (disk) storage and then moving it to tape after that. That adds another layer to the process. Our technology allows them to say they don't need tape, or the midtier," said Eric Sumpter, Copan's founder and chief operating officer.

The company's disk-based storage system basically spins the drives only as needed, which allows it to pack more drives into its system. That, in turn, allows the information to be accessed more quickly, Sumpter said.

Copan, which began shipping its Revolution 200T storage device in March, has 11 installations at Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, service providers and government agencies.

The company, which has raised $39 million to date, received its latest funding round from four companies, including new lead investor Pequot Ventures. Other investors in the new round include Pinnacle Ventures and previous investors Austin Ventures and Globespan Capital Partners.

Copan's funding comes six months after Cornice, another storage maker, landed $51 million in a second round of funding. Cornice makes mini hard drives that are designed for products such as video cameras, music players and Global Positioning System technology.

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