Laurel Networks was founded in 1999, and specialized in routers for telecommunications carriers. Funding was provided in four rounds the first two of which were: Round 1: $12.3m, led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Rein Capital Round 2: $60.0m, led by NEA, Trinity Ventures, Worldview Technology Partners and WorldCom Venture Fund In 2005, after ultimately consuming $120m in venture capital funding, they were purchased by ECI Telecom for $88m, and formally renamed as the Data Networking Division within ECI.