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§ Private Profile · Redwood City, Calif.
Software startup automating application provisioning and patch installations for data centers, enhancing enterprise IT management.
CenterRun has raised $11.0M across 1 funding round.
Key people at CenterRun.
CenterRun was founded in 2000 by Aaref Hilaly (Founder & CEO).
CenterRun has raised $11.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Based in Redwood City, California, CenterRun developed enterprise data center automation software that managed the provisioning of internally developed applications, third-party software, and patch installations across server networks. The platform facilitated grid computing and virtualization strategies while supporting complex infrastructure migrations from legacy platforms to Linux environments. The startup secured major enterprise customers such as Seagate and VeriSign, and was backed by prominent venture capital firms including Sequoia Capital, Crosslink Capital, and Needham Capital Partners. After raising $20 million in total venture funding, the company was acquired by Sun Microsystems in late 2003 for a reported valuation between $60 million and $66 million. Following the transaction, the startup ceased independent operations and its core technology was integrated into Sun's N1 data center automation division. CenterRun was founded in 2000 by Mike Schroepfer, Aaref Hilaly, and Basil Hashem.
Key people at CenterRun.
CenterRun was founded in 2000 by Aaref Hilaly (Founder & CEO).
CenterRun has raised $11.0M in total across 1 funding round.
CenterRun's investors include Bain Capital Ventures.
CenterRun has raised $11.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $11.0M Series A in January 2002.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 2002 | $11M Series A | — | Bain Capital Ventures | Announced |
CenterRun was a pioneering software company that developed tools for datacenter automation, specifically enabling customers to provision, track, and update networked application services efficiently.[2][3] It served IT departments and enterprises managing large-scale data centers, solving the problem of complex, time-consuming provisioning that traditional technologies took months to deploy by offering solutions deployable in 5-10 days for faster ROI.[2] Founded in 2000, CenterRun achieved early revenue from software licenses due to its broad functionality and ease of use but struggled with full product-market fit, leading to its acquisition by Sun Microsystems in an all-cash deal closing in early 2004, solidifying Sun's N1 strategy for infrastructure virtualization and flexible data center operations.[2][3][4][7]
CenterRun was co-founded in June 2000 by Aaref Hilaly (CEO) and Mike Schroepfer (chief architect and director of engineering), both entrepreneurs with backgrounds in tech innovation—Hilaly later built Clearwell (sold to Symantec for $410M), while Schroepfer advanced to CTO at Facebook/Meta and founded climate VC Gigascale Capital.[3][4][6][7] Based in Redwood City, California, the idea emerged amid the dot-com era's demand for efficient data center management, positioning CenterRun as an early player in automation.[2][3] Key traction came from generating software license revenues quickly, but lacking sustained product-market fit, it was acquired by Sun Microsystems in November 2003 (closing Q1 2004), integrating into Sun's Software organization under Jonathan Schwartz to enhance the N1 vision of treating data centers as a single, agile system.[2][4][7]
CenterRun rode the early 2000s trend toward data center efficiency and virtualization, predating modern cloud computing by automating provisioning amid rising server sprawl post-dot-com boom.[2][3] Timing was ideal as enterprises sought agility without massive overhauls, aligning with Sun's N1 push for "single system" data centers—a precursor to AWS, hyperscale clouds, and DevOps tools like Kubernetes.[2][4] Market forces like cost pressures and scalability needs favored it, influencing the ecosystem by accelerating automation adoption; its founders' exits seeded talent into Sequoia, Bain Capital Ventures, Meta, and AI ventures, humanizing the pivot from on-prem hardware to software-defined infrastructure.[3][4][6][7]
As an acquired entity integrated into Sun (later Oracle), CenterRun no longer operates independently, but its legacy endures in datacenter automation's evolution toward AI-driven ops and edge computing. Founders Hilaly and Schroepfer now shape AI, climate tech, and ventures, suggesting CenterRun's DNA influences trends like agentic IT (e.g., Hilaly's Echelon AI portfolio).[3][4][7] Next: Its playbook—fast iteration amid imperfect fit—will echo in 2026's hyperscaler battles and sovereign clouds, where speed trumps perfection, tying back to its role as an early efficiency pioneer in an always-on world.
