Virtru is a global data

encryption In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext. Ideally, only authorized parties can decip ...

and

digital privacy Digital privacy is often used in contexts that promote advocacy on behalf of individual and consumer privacy rights in e-services and is typically used in opposition to the business practices of many e-marketers, businesses, and companies to coll ...

provider founded in 2012. The company is headquartered in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

History

Virtru was co-founded by CEO John Ackerly and his brother and CTO, Will Ackerly, in 2012. While working in national security, the co-founders experienced the unmet necessity for secure sharing firsthand. As a

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

policy advisor during

9/11 The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

, John saw how secure data sharing and collaboration could have helped connect the dots and save lives. Will spent eight years at the National Security Agency (NSA) where he specialized in cloud analytic and security architecture and experienced similar frustrations with data silos in the intelligence community. During his tenure at the NSA, Will created the Trusted Data Format (TDF)' so analysts and operators could confidently share data and collaborate across organizations.'

Funding

Virtru is privately funded with investments from ICONIQ Capital,

Bessemer Venture Partners Bessemer Venture Partners (Bessemer) is an American venture capital firm. The firm has over $19 billion under management and invests globally, with offices in San Francisco, Redwood City, New York City, Boston, Israel, India, and London. Bessemer ...

and other private investors. Iconiq Capital's founding partner, Will Griffith, and Bessemer partner David Cowan, co-founder of

Verisign Verisign Inc. is an American company based in Reston, Virginia, United States that operates a diverse array of network infrastructure, including two of the Internet's thirteen root nameservers, the authoritative registry for the , , and gener ...

, serve on the company’s board of directors. Sonatype CEO and Former CEO at

Sourcefire Sourcefire, Inc was a technology company that developed network security hardware and software. The company's Firepower network security appliances were based on Snort, an open-source intrusion detection system (IDS). Sourcefire was acquired b ...

, Wayne Jackson, and Authentic8 CEO, Scott Petry, who founded the email security company Postini, are also Virtru board members. On August 22, 2016, Virtru announced that it closed a $29 million

Series A A series A round (also known as series A financing or series A investment) is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exchan ...

funding' led by Bessemer Venture Partners with

New Enterprise Associates New Enterprise Associates (NEA) is an American-based venture capital firm. NEA focuses investment stages ranging from seed stage through growth stage across an array of industry sectors. With ~$25 billion in committed capital, NEA is one of the w ...

Soros Fund Management Soros Fund Management, LLC is a private American investment management firm. It is currently structured as a family office, but formerly as a hedge fund. The firm was founded in 1970 by George Soros and, in 2010, was reported to be one of the mos ...

, Haystack Partners, Quadrant Capital Advisors, and Blue Delta Capital also participating in the round. On May 31, 2018, Virtru announced a $37 million

Series B A venture round is a type of funding round used for venture capital financing, by which startup companies obtain investment, generally from venture capitalists and other institutional investors. The availability of venture funding is among the ...

round led by Iconiq Capital with participation from returning investors Bessemer Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates,

Samsung The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...

, Blue Delta Capital, and Soros Fund Management.

References

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