Why we invested in NetFabric
We’ve invested in NetFabric to develop a next-gen network observability platform, tackling the multi-million dollar downtime issue for the world’s largest companies
How it started
We first came across NetFabric in April 2024, when we received a referral from Thomas Meir at Lightbird (thanks Thomas!). Beni, Tobi and Marlene are the ideal team to solve this massive problem, so when we later learned that the round was being led by Founderful (fka Wingman), Chris reached out to them to see if we could co-lead alongside them.
The downtime problem
‘Downtime cost’ is the profit a company loses when its network stops functioning. Just a few minutes of downtime can result in multimillion dollar losses for large companies. A one hour outage at Amazon in 2021, for example, led to $34m in lost sales. [1]
There are many more examples of other such eye watering losses. Here are a few NetFabric highlighted in their pitch deck:
Beyond the immediate financial hit, downtime also leads to a number of second-order problems. Highly skilled engineers are tied up in diagnosing and fixing network issues, rather than working on projects that generate revenue. Frequent or prolonged downtime can severely harm a company’s reputation, affecting customer trust and future sales.
One of our expert references, eloquently summed up the current state of play as: ‘Monitoring is f**king s**t how it is atm, it all requires interpretation’.
Downtime is such a major issue because current tools don’t correctly identify the network issues that lead to downtime, or give clear insights to solve them. They simply provide alerts — often based on incomplete information — that still require extensive troubleshooting to find the root cause of the problem. These alerts often send engineering teams in the wrong direction with false positives. It’s not uncommon for heads of networks and engineers to spend hours, days, or even weeks, dealing with unclear alerts, false positives and false negatives.
The problem of network downtime is set to escalate due to a couple of factors. Hybrid cloud networks and other advanced technologies are adding layers of complexity, making it harder to maintain seamless operations. And as businesses become more dependent on their networks, the financial impact of downtime grows, leading to even more significant revenue losses and costly emergency fixes.
Netfabric’s solution
NetFabric seamlessly connects all network data sources, enabling real-time answers to any network-related question — specifically downtime, and what’s behind it. It makes resolution times at least three times faster, and cuts downtime by 70%.
Unlike other solutions, NetFabric collects and connects all data sources and observations, finding not just the ‘what’ but also the ‘why’ behind problematic network behaviours. This is important because the hardest task when analysing network issues is figuring out how different aspects of the network interact. Traditional monitoring tools struggle with this challenge of reasoning across data sources, leading to inaccurate conclusions and downstream issues.
In contrast, NetFabric achieves this by combining the precision of complex mathematical models with the flexibility of large language models to navigate the flood of incoming observations in a comprehensive way. This ensures that the monitoring process is based on accurate, reliable and complete information, bringing network observability to the next level.
Playfair’s thesis
A significant and costly problem, unaddressed by current solutions
As we’ve covered above, downtime is a significant and costly problem. Engineers spend extensive time dealing with alerts that require interpretation, including false positives and negatives.
Most existing network monitoring solutions are outdated and ineffective at diagnosing problems or recommending solutions. They often only examine parts of the network, such as traffic flow, rather than the entire network. This incomplete approach results in downtime repeatedly happening, and high engineer costs for activities that do not generate revenue.
A large market with deep pockets
NetFabric operates at the intersection of AIOps and network monitoring, both of which are rapidly growing and highly attractive markets.
The AIOps market is projected to grow to USD 79.91 billion by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.01%. Valued at USD 3.34 billion in 2023, the global network monitoring market is expected to reach USD 8.30 billion by 2032.
The right founders to solve this problem
It would be very difficult to find another team as well qualified to succeed here as Beni, Tobi and Marlene. They are world-class academics, but also have a nuanced commercial understanding of the issues at hand. They are supported by a stellar team of advisors, including two professors from ETH and a commercial advisor who is a serial entrepreneur and exited founder.
Their product is based on years of research at ETH, making them one of only a handful of teams globally with such a deep background in this field. Being embedded in ETH via advisors and relationships will allow the company to access ETH networks for testing and refining their product. This integration also provides a pipeline of world-class talent and the latest research knowledge.
Beni Bichsel (CEO) holds a PhD in Computer Science from ETH Zurich, where he specialized in reducing programming complexity across various domains. His dissertation earned recognition as an outstanding contribution in Programming Languages. With his deep technical expertise and leadership skills, Beni is positioned to lead NetFabric’s mission to revolutionize network monitoring.
Tobias Bühler (CTO) completed his PhD at ETH Zurich, specializing in the development of advanced network monitoring tools using real-world data and collaborating with industry leaders like Swisscom, Benocs, and Google. His ability to bridge complex technical concepts with practical applications ensures NetFabric remains at the forefront of transforming network monitoring solutions.
Marlene Brakhane (COO) has led operations, business lines, and strategic initiatives across both startup and multi-national corporate environments. With over 8 years of expertise in scaling, transforming, and successfully exiting startups from Seed to Series F, Marlene brings commercial acumen to complement the deep academic backgrounds of the team.
This synergy ensures that NetFabric excels at combining technical innovation with effective business strategy.
What’s next?
NetFabric’s pre-seed funding will propel the development of a foundational deep-tech platform aimed at revolutionising network monitoring. Alongside expanding its team, NetFabric is actively seeking design partnerships to enhance product development.
If you are interested in exploring career opportunities or discussing potential partnerships, you can reach out to the Netfabric team directly here.
