Tarari

Tarari, Inc. operated as a fabless semiconductor company, carving out a specialized niche in content and application-aware processing for network and security applications. Founded in 2002 by Randy Smerik and spun out of Intel, the San Diego-based firm focused on developing silicon and software to accelerate and offload computationally intensive algorithms.

The company's core products were Content Processor silicon, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and boards designed to enhance the performance of network equipment. These products enabled high-speed, deep content inspection, a critical function for applications like anti-virus, anti-spam, intrusion detection and prevention, and XML security. Tarari's technology allowed Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), appliance and server vendors, and independent software vendors to process network traffic and messages with greater speed and efficiency. The processors were designed to offload complex tasks from a system's main CPU, thereby improving overall network performance and security.

Tarari's business model centered on supplying these hardware and software acceleration components to other technology manufacturers. The company successfully raised $29.8 million in venture capital from notable investors including Crosspoint Venture Partners, Morgan Stanley Venture Partners, Intel Capital, and others over three funding rounds. Its trajectory culminated in a significant milestone on September 5, 2007, when LSI Corporation announced a definitive agreement to acquire Tarari for approximately $85 million in cash. Following the acquisition, the Tarari team and its product portfolio were integrated into LSI's Network & Storage Products Group.

Keywords: content processor, semiconductor, deep content inspection, network security, application acceleration, silicon, ASIC, fabless semiconductor, XML acceleration, intrusion prevention, content filtering, network appliance, LSI Logic, Randy Smerik, data processing, security processor, algorithm acceleration, packet processing, message processing, unified threat management