Google Ventures and Jafco Ventures have co-led a $25.5 million Series B funding round in Ionic Security, a data security provider. Other participants in the funding round include the Webb Investment Network as well as existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, ff Venture Capital, Tech Operators and Paul Judge, Ken Levine and Phillip Dunkelberger. The Series B round brings Ionic’s total capital raised to $38 million.
Press Release
Ionic Security Inc., delivering the first comprehensive distributed data security platform for the enterprise, today announced it has secured $25.5 million in venture funding. The round was co-led by Google Ventures and Jafco Ventures with participation from the Webb Investment Network as well as existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers (KPCB), ff Venture Capital, Tech Operators, and well-known security titans Dr. Paul Judge, Ken Levine, and Phillip Dunkelberger.
The investment from Google Ventures and Jafco Ventures validates Ionic Security’s position as a leader in the movement to reinvent perimeter security, or lack thereof, and deliver unified security across the entire data lifecycle. Google Ventures brings hands on experience with best-in-class data science, Internet scale engineering, and the largest global infrastructure footprint to help the stealth security company as it prepares to enter the market. Ionic Security joins Jafco Ventures’ impressive portfolio of cloud and security companies such as FireEye, Palo Alto Networks and Huddle.
“The megatrends of mobility and cloud computing have forced enterprises to re-think how they secure their key data and assets and who is best-positioned to help them in that regard,” said Tom Mawhinney, general partner with Jafco Ventures. “The last decade was defined by securing the perimeter and our firm was fortunate to have backed companies such as Palo Alto Networks and FireEye. The next decade will be defined by getting distributed data security right, and we believe Ionic has delivered the world’s first comprehensive solution that solves this challenge.”
Ionic Security will use new funds to continue executing against its vision to address advanced security threats in a unique way unlike the traditional model of simply extending the perimeter, and building out its go-to-market strategy. This latest round of funding brings Ionic Security’s total amount raised to $38 million.
“With the rise of cloud services and an increase in mobile workers, current security models are much less effective than they used to be. The classic enterprise perimeter is dissolving, and is being replaced by a new set of requirements,” said Karim Faris, General Partner at Google Ventures. “Ionic’s distributed approach ties security to your data regardless of where it lives, and represents a significant opportunity for the enterprise.”
Ionic Security was founded in 2011 by a team of security innovators, including CEO Steve Abbott, formerly with PGP Corp and Forsythe Technology, and Adam Ghetti, founder and CTO, recently named on Forbes’ 30 under 30 list. The company is reinventing cloud security by delivering a unified platform which combines visibility, attribution, and granular control with massive-scale machine learning, and streaming graph analytics to provide enterprises with an unprecedented level of control of their data without the need for, or use of, gateways.
“Ionic has assembled a world-class team spanning security, enterprise software, cloud and mobility to solve the comprehensive data security challenges facing today’s enterprise,” said Ted Schlein, managing partner at KPCB and renowned cyber security expert. “Their solution is unlike anything else and is poised to bring cloud security to the masses.”
“We are working with Fortune 100 customers who are looking for new ways to protect their business, in light of the cloud-enabled workforce and BYOD. Businesses need protections across the entire data lifecycle with analytics and increased visibility to help regain control of devices, networks and applications on their networks,” said Steve Abbott, CEO of Ionic Security. “Our company is solving the data security solution at Internet scale — on any device, any network and for any user, unlike gateway solutions, and we look forward to launching our product to a larger audience later this year.”
“One of the biggest challenges facing enterprises today is managing distributed data security at internet scale,” said Adam Ghetti, CTO of Ionic. “Not only does the Ionic platform solve this problem it is easier to manage than the traditional point-solutions they have in place today.”
About Google Ventures
Google Ventures provides seed, venture and growth stage funding to the most innovative and promising entrepreneurs across a variety of industries. Founded in 2009, Google Ventures has extensive entrepreneurial experience, deep technical knowledge, and expertise in building high growth, scalable products and companies. Among its 200+ investments are Uber, Kabam, RetailMeNot, DocuSign, AngelList, and Foundation Medicine. Google Ventures is headquartered in Mountain View, Calif., with offices in Boston and New York. For more information, please visit www.gv.com.
About Jafco Ventures
Based in Palo Alto, Jafco Ventures is a venture capital partnership that invests in early-stage companies with great teams that demonstrate differentiated technology, compelling business models and momentum in their respective markets. The firm’s focus is to help portfolio companies efficiently scale to realize great outcomes. Jafco Ventures has had the privilege to invest in market-leading companies such as Aster Data, FireEye, 41st Parameter, Infinera, MoPub, Palo Alto Networks, and Proofpoint. To support this challenge the partnership consists of a core team of proven, early-stage venture capital investors, augmented by venture partners with best-in-class experience in scaling companies and a world-class business development team based in Tokyo. For more information about Jafco Ventures visit www.jafco.com.
About Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers
Since its founding in 1972, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has backed entrepreneurs in more than 500 ventures including AOL, Amazon.com, Citrix, Compaq, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Genomic Health, Google, Groupon, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Netscape, Sun, Symantec, Verisign, webMD and Zynga. KPCB portfolio companies employ more than 350,000 people worldwide. More than 150 of the firm’s portfolio companies have gone public, and many other KPCB ventures have achieved success through mergers and acquisitions. KPCB focuses its global investments in three practice areas — digital, greentech and life sciences — and provides entrepreneurs with company-building expertise out of its offices in Silicon Valley, Beijing and Shanghai.
About Ionic Security
Ionic Security enables the use of cloud services by protecting sensitive data anywhere it travels and wherever it resides, whether on the corporate network, in the cloud or on mobile devices. The first distributed data security platform of its kind, Ionic Security takes a comprehensive approach to securing data in today’s borderless enterprise by providing access control, intellectual property monitoring, data encryption and policy management, without proxies or gateways or changes in user behavior. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and is backed by leading venture firms such as Google Ventures, Jafco Ventures, Webb Investment Network, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, TechOperators and ff Venture Capital as well as industry experts Christopher Klaus, Ken Levine, Phil Dunkelberger and Dr. Paul Judge. More information is located at www.ionicsecurity.com.
