Two Kiwi technology firms make Asia's 'A' list

Two small Kiwi companies have scored big in getting on a prestigious list of the most promising technology companies in Asia.

Esphion and Argent Networks were last week named on international magazine Red Herring's Top 100 Private Companies of Asia - the only two from New Zealand.

In doing so they sit alongside Google and eBay, both of which are now public, and which, in their early days, were spotted by Red Herring as companies that would help change the way people live and work.

Esphion is a network appliance company specialising in securing large IP networks using neural analysis to detect anomalies in the network itself before they reach computers.

Launched in 2002, the North Shore-based company has an annual turnover of $1 million and employs 17 staff. Customers include Fortune 100 enterprises, major service providers and financial institutions.

Auckland City-based Argent Networks specialises in providing billing and customer-care solutions for telecommunications companies, drawing a lot of its business from the fast-growing mobile phone markets of the Middle East and Africa.

It employs 30 staff and had turnover of $8.5 million last year.

Both companies are backed by Wellington-based venture capital firm No 8 Ventures, which invests in early-stage New Zealand technology companies with potential to be large and international.

No 8 Ventures was founded in 1998 and has more than $60 million under management in two funds. It also manages the Government's Venture Investment Fund's seed fund.

Red Herring is a weekly magazine for technology entrepreneurs and investors. Its Top 100 list is part of the magazine's tradition of identifying new and innovative companies and entrepreneurs.