Virtru, a trusted provider of encryption and data protection to thousands of organizations around the world, today announced that it has secured $29 million in Series A financing led by Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) with New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Soros Fund Management, Haystack Partners, Quadrant Capital Advisors, and Blue Delta Capital also participating in the round. Virtru will use the capital to scale operations worldwide, build new products to protect all types of data, and extend its Software Development Kits (SDKs) and Application Program Interfaces (APIs) for software developers.
Launched in 2014 and founded on the belief that privacy is a basic human right, Virtru now provides email and file encryption to more than 4,000 organizations around the world. Whether to meet regulatory requirements or protect intellectual property, customers in media, entertainment, government, healthcare, financial services and manufacturing choose Virtru for its revolutionary ease-of-use and powerful security and control features.
By integrating encryption, access control, and data loss prevention (DLP) into tools like Gmail, Google Drive, and Microsoft Outlook, Virtru eliminates longstanding barriers to protecting individual and business privacy. The company's innovations and patented technologies include full-text search of encrypted content and the ability to use existing identity for authentication -- ensuring that customers no longer need to trade privacy for convenience. Virtru will use the new capital to accelerate support for cloud platforms like Microsoft Office 365 and extending its SDKs and APIs for software developers to integrate Virtru into their applications.
'As we share our personal information with banks, doctors, schools, employers, and governments, our individual privacy depends upon their security,' said BVP Partner David Cowan. 'The success of Virtru's email and file protection offerings show that they're setting the new standard for business privacy.'
To help drive the company's enterprise growth strategy, Wayne Jackson, CEO of Sonatype and former CEO of Sourcefire, will join the company's Board of Directors. He joins BVP's Cowan, who co-founded cyber security companies VeriSign, Good Technology and Defense.net, and Authentic8 CEO Scott Petry, who founded the email security company Postini.
Virtru's architecture is built on the Trusted Data Format (TDF), an open-source technology invented by company Co-Founder Will Ackerly, a former cloud security architect at the NSA. Unlike network-based approaches to security such as firewalls and intrusion prevention systems, Virtru protects the data itself, throughout its lifespan and wherever it travels. Each content object is wrapped in its own secure envelope that can only be accessed by authorized parties. Customers manage their own encryption keys and access privileges can be revoked or changed at any time, even after content has been opened or shared.
'We've always been about making it easy for people to take back control of their private information, on their terms and without unnecessary complexity,' said John Ackerly, CEO and Co-Founder of Virtru. 'With the new funding and the support of best security and privacy investors and operators in the industry, we will take our mission to more businesses, software developers and individuals around the world.'
Recent Innovations & Corporate Milestones:
June 2016, Virtru introduces Encrypted Search, allowing users to search the encrypted content contained in an email message or file, not just metadata such as subject lines or file names, while preserving their privacy.
January 2016, Virtru launches hardware-backed encryption keys giving customers exclusive control and choice of the physical location of their keys.
January 2016, the Virtru SDK is announced, allowing independent software vendors (ISVs) and cloud providers to easily embed Virtru's data-centric encryption into their products.
September 2015, Will Ackerly debuts at #21 on Fortune's 40 Under 40 list.
Morrison & Foerster LLP served as legal counsel to Virtru in connection with the financing.
About Virtru
In an era where every data transfer is a potential data leak, Virtru makes it possible for everyone to protect their content by offering easy and affordable email and file encryption. From individuals to large enterprises, Virtru lets people control who receives, reviews, and retains their information -- wherever it travels, throughout its lifespan. Based on the open Trusted Data Format (TDF) created by Virtru Co-Founder Will Ackerly, the company's Encryption-as-a-Service (EaaS) architecture, integrates powerful data security directly into the applications we use every day. Learn more at www.virtru.com or follow @virtruprivacy on Twitter.
About Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) invests in early-stage, hyper-growth startups, partnering closely with entrepreneurs to build durable businesses. BVP is a global firm with offices in Menlo Park, San Francisco, Boston, New York, India and Israel. With $4 billion under management, BVP invests anywhere from $100,000 to $75 million in innovative companies like LinkedIn, Yelp, Skype, Pinterest, Shopify, Blue Apron, Rocket Lab and Twilio. BVP has funded 40 cyber security companies, and more than 115 BVP companies have gone public. Follow us @BessemerVP.