“The money from the EDA is great, but the leverage, the connections and the network that comes with the financing has been even more critical to our success,” says Ashish Vengsarkar, Chief Executive Officer of Nistica, Inc.

In 2007, Nistica received a $1 million Edison Innovation Fund investment from the EDA that was used for working capital and product development funds.  One year later, Nistica became the second company to have a portion of its Edison Innovation Fund investment converted to preferred stock by the EDA.  The conversion of 50 percent of the loan from debt to equity demonstrates the promise of this Bridgewater-based company.   

“Our recent move from a 5,000-square-foot space to 15,000 square feet was a direct result of the EDA investment, and it will allow us to keep our momentum going,” added Vengsarkar.  “We have nearly doubled our staff, the majority of which are highly paid engineers, and we plan to continue this trend in the future.”

Founded in 2005, Nistica is a global supplier of agile optical modules that simplify, automate and make affordable the delivery of high bandwidth applications.  The company has designed its products for optical system OEM vendors around the world. Over the past decade, the founders have been instrumental in bringing ROADM technology to market and creating viable solutions for wavelength selective switching applications.  Nistica has drawn on this knowledge to develop the FLEDGE series of products and devise cutting edge devices that enable systems providers across multiple industries to meet ever-increasing demand.