The rise in cybercrime, malware and other malicious hacking is seeing a subsequent rise in the fortunes of tech startups that are setting out to fight it. Today, cybercrime solution specialist Endgame announced that it has raised $23 million in a Series B round of equity finance. It will partly use the proceeds to take its product — originally developed for and deployed with government customers — to a wider commercial market.
This round was led by Paladin Capital, a private equity firm, with participation also from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Columbia Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and TechOperators. The funding takes the total invested in Endgame to date to $52 million after a $29 million round in 2010, which had been the company’s first venture backing.
As part of the deal, Endgame is also getting an impressive new member on its board: Lt. Gen. (Ret) Kenneth A. Minihan, former director of the U.S. National Security Agency, who is now an MD at Paladin. As background on Paladin, the firm emaphasises investments in the IT sector that pertain to the government, cybersecurity and related areas. (As a measure of that, its first-ever fund, in 2001, was the $235-million “Homeland Security Fund.”)
As you would imagine from a company focused on government and intelligence clients, Endgame’s site is fairly spare in terms of information about current clients and products. It looks like the crux of its service is its Cyber Operations Platform, an integrated dashboard that delivers a real time ability to monitor data points on a network for suspicious activity. It also lets users mine offline data to help increase enforcement.
New board memeber Minihan is bullish on the role that companies like Endgame are already playing in federal organizations today, and the message here seems to be “if it’s good enough for the CIA, well then it’s good enough for your business.”
“The cyber domain will be increasingly important across all dimensions of national power – military, economic, and informational,” he said in a statement. “Endgame’s revolutionary technology allows its customers to use intelligence seamlessly to gain situational awareness and support their end-to-end network operations.”
Minihan is not Endgame’s only tie into the corridors of power: its new CTO, Matt Georgy, joined Endgame “after a decorated career as a senior executive at the Department of Defense”. And Endgame’s new Chairman, Christopher Darby, is the current President and CEO of In-Q-Tel, the strategic investment firm that works with the CIA and other government intelligence organizations.
Other recent new appointments include Nathaniel Fick as CEO in November, replacing founder Chris Rouland (who stays on as a board member) and Niloofar Howe, CSO.
Full release below.
Endgame, Inc. Raises $23M Series B Round of Equity Financing
Herndon, VA — Endgame, Inc., a leading provider of battle-tested cyber security solutions, announced today that it has closed a $23 million Series B equity financing to fund growth in its existing federal customer base as well as expansion into the commercial market.The Series B is led by new investor Paladin Capital Group, a multi-stage private equity firm providing capital and strategic guidance to growing companies, with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Columbia Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers and TechOperators. Lt. Gen. (Ret) Kenneth A. Minihan, former Director of the National Security Agency and Managing Director at Paladin, will join the Endgame Board of Directors.
“The cyber domain will be increasingly important across all dimensions of national power – military, economic, and informational,” said Lt. General Minihan. “Endgame’s revolutionary technology allows its customers to use intelligence seamlessly to gain situational awareness and support their end-to-end network operations.”
As part of its expansion, Endgame has recruited several new executives to the company’s management team, including: Nathaniel Fick, who joined as CEO in November, replacing Chris Rouland who remains a Founder and board member of the company; Niloofar Howe, who joined as Chief Strategy Officer to lead the company’s efforts in market and product strategy, as well as business and corporate development; and Matt Georgy, who joined Endgame as CTO after a decorated career as a senior executive at the Department of Defense supporting all aspects of computer network operations. Endgame’s new Chairman of the Board, Christopher Darby, has deep expertise in the intelligence space as the current President and CEO of In-Q-Tel, the independent strategic investment firm supporting the missions of the U.S. Intelligence Community.
“The cyber needs of federal and commercial entities are converging as states look beyond targeting other states to target private companies, and national security thinking must increasingly account for private infrastructure,” said Nate Fick, CEO of Endgame. “I’m excited about leveraging the solutions and technology that our mission partners depend on to help businesses with comprehensive command and control of their network operations.”