Drew D. Perkins

Drew D. Perkins is a serial entrepreneur and is one of the lead authors of the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), an early internet technology that provided for access to the internet via the circuit-switched telephone system.
Perkins has founded or was a key early employee in at least 7 companies.

Entrepreneurial experience

Companies founded or materially developed by Perkins include:

• Infinera, a public company which was co-founded by Perkins in 2001.
• Gainspeed, which was sold to Nokia in 2016. Since it was founded in 2012, Gainspeed had raised $55 million in financing from investors including New Enterprise Associates, Andreessen Horowitz, Shasta Ventures, Technicolor, and Juniper Networks.
• OnFiber Communications, which was sold to Qwest Communications for $107 million in cash in 2006. Other owners of Onfiber included Bear Stearns Merchant Banking (11%) and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (30%).
• Lightera Networks, which was acquired by Ciena in 1999 in exchange for 20.6 million shares in Ciena.
• FORE Systems, where Perkins was the principal architect from 1993 to 1997. The company was sold in 1999 for $4.5 billion.

• "Infinera Announces Drew Perkins to Step Down as CTO and Remain as Technical Advisor" (Press release). Infinera. December 21, 2011. 
• "Gainspeed to Be Acquired by Nokia" (Press release). Business Wire. June 9, 2016. 
• "Nokia Nabs Gainspeed". Multichannel. August 1, 2016. 
• "Qwest Completes Acquisition Of OnFiber Communications, Inc." (Press release). CenturyLink. September 5, 2006. 
• "DOMESTIC SECTION 214 APPLICATION FILED FOR TRANSFER OF CONTROL OF ONFIBER, INC. TO QWEST COMMUNICATIONS CORPORATION" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission . June 19, 2006. 
• "Ciena to Acquire Lightera and Omnia" (Press release). Los Angeles Times. March 16, 1999. 
• "GEC Agrees to Acquire FORE Systems, Inc. for $35 Per Share In Cash Transaction Valued in Excess of $4 Billion" (Press release). Business Wire. April 26, 1999. 

Investments

Perkins participated in a $5 million seed financing for RevUp Software in March 2016.

Perkins participated in a $26 million Series B financing for Console Inc. in November 2015.

Education

Perkins received bachelor of science degrees in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering and Mathematics from Carnegie Mellon University in 1986.