Juniper Networks, a leading company in networking products has announced its intent to acquire Mist Systems, a pioneer in cloud-managed wireless networks powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) for $405M. The proposed acquisition is expected to close in Juniper Networks’ fiscal second quarter, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. The deal will enhance Juniper’s enterprise networking portfolio by combining Mist’s next-generation Wireless LAN (WLAN) platform with Juniper’s best-in-class wired LAN, SD-WAN and security solutions to deliver unsurpassed end-to-end user and IT experiences.

Mist has built the world’s first AI-driven wireless platform, which makes Wi-Fi more predictable, reliable and measurable. Mist has also developed the networking industry’s only AI-driven virtual assistant, Marvis, to simplify wireless troubleshooting and provide unprecedented insight into client and network behaviour. In addition, Mist uses patented virtual Bluetooth LE technology in conjunction with Wi-Fi and IoT to deliver scalable and cost-effective location-based wireless services to customers, such as indoor wayfinding, proximity notifications, traffic analytics and asset tracking.

The deal enables Juniper to extend cloud-based management and end-to-end AI-driven visibility (“AI for IT”) across the end-to-end enterprise network (from access to the WAN) to offer an industry-leading, software-defined and highly differentiated solution for simplifying operations, improving user experience and lowering total cost of ownership (TCO).

Mist Systems is a great fit for Juniper and for our enterprise customers

“Mist Systems is a great fit for Juniper and for our enterprise customers,” says Rami Rahim, CEO, Juniper Networks. “Juniper and Mist share a common strategic goal. We believe in the Software-Defined Enterprise and Mist’s focus on bringing AI to IT is consistent with our core belief that we need to simplify operations and improve customer experience while lowering costs. With Mist, we are adding a market leading solution to complement our portfolio, drive the cloud transition within the enterprise and accelerate our enterprise growth,” he adds.
“Mist Systems has developed a unique blend of wireless, AI and cloud expertise that has enabled us to stand out from the competition and bring much needed innovation to the wireless space. By combining these proficiencies with Juniper’s expansive channel reach, world-class support and best-in-class networking and security products, we believe we will be well poised to change the IT landscape by ushering in a new generation of AI-driven products,” says SujaiHajela, CEO, Mist Systems.

“The joint Mist and Juniper solution delivers excellent visibility into the entire wired/wireless stack and uniquely leverages AI for proactive automation, making it a perfect fit for our campus environment,” says Mitch Davis, Vice President, Dartmouth College. “I am excited to see these two best-of-breed solutions tightly aligned and I look forward to seeing even more integration and innovation going forward, as it is key to our mission of delivering world-class IT experiences to our students, faculty, staff and guests,” he adds.