Digital twin technology developer Forward Networks raises $50M

TechCrunch reports that Forward Networks, a startup that has created digital twin modeling software for enterprise networks, AI projects, and other complex architectures, has raised $50 million in a funding round. The startup, which has raised $116 million to date, said it will put the money toward further research and development and on expanding its customer base. Digital twins, or virtual representations of existing systems, allow engineers to visualize and assess architectures such as networks to search for potential malfunctions among their numerous simultaneously operating components. Forward Networks' co-founders claim their solution, which supports AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform, is capable of modeling and maintaining mathematically accurate digital twins of a network, which enables its managers to work on ensuring site reliability and monitor that network's security posture. Especially in light of the SolarWinds attack in 2020, enterprises have become more interested in learning about how networks operate, CEO David Erickson said, opening up the possibility for the company to veer more toward the security aspect of their product in the future.