Mocana Closes $7M in Series B Funding
Financing Will Fuel Marketing Initiatives and Global Expansion
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – May 21, 2008 – Mocana, a security software company that delivers comprehensive protection for devices, today closed $7 Million in venture financing. The infusion of funding, led by Southern Cross Venture Partners, will be used to expand the company’s product lines, build out its international presence and increase marketing activities. Mocana’s original institutional investor, Shasta Ventures also participated in this round, increasing their equity position in the company and bringing Mocana’s total capital backing to $12.1M.
While attacks on PC platforms have steadily grown in sophistication, PC security technology has generally evolved along with the threats. However, there are now more non-PC devices connected to the network than PC; like PDAs, routers, DVRs, printers, iPods, digital picture frames, and even cars.. Each one of these new devices represents an easy way to infiltrate the rest of the network. This is because third- and fourth-generation attack techniques are being unleashed upon millions of non-PC devices armed with, at best, first-generation security.
To address this, Mocana offers its Device Security Framework (DSF), a comprehensive approach to device security that secures communications to and from any device connected to the network, as well as the data and applications residing on those devices. This latest round of financing will be used to enhance and expand the 20 security components that currently make up Mocana's DSF so manufacturers and service providers can ensure that security is inherent in the device, to protect against existing and emerging threats.
"Hacking isnít about rogue developers seeking glory by bringing down high-profile sites anymore. Itís now a thriving business-oriented endeavor that exploits the most information-rich sources on the network for monetary gain. Devices are in the crosshairs because they often store valuable user information, but are not yet as secure as PCs, providing a "soft target" - an easy gateway into the rest of your network," said Larry Marshall, Managing Director with Southern Cross Venture Partners. "Mocana has developed a very innovative approach to device security that is an ideal solution for addressing these threats. We are thrilled to lead this investment and back Mocana's strong management team and early leadership position with their defensible technology and large order book of high quality customers."
In addition to new products, Mocana will use this funding to fuel marketing activities that will increase its presence in international markets, as well as expand into new markets domestically. To lead this activity, the company has appointed Kurt Stammberger, CISSP as its Vice President of Marketing. Mr. Stammberger has spent most of his career marketing and selling security technologies, having joined cryptography startup RSA Security in 1990 as its 7th employee. While at RSA, he was responsible for leading its marketing organization for eight years and played a key role in creating the brand that now protects virtually every electronic commerce transaction on the planet. He was also instrumental in launching VeriSign, following its spinoff from RSA. Prior to Mocana, Mr. Stammberger founded Coda Creative, an award-winning technology marketing firm that focused on security startups, and recently served as VP of Content & Services for consumer healthcare startup Vimo.com. A recognized industry leader, Mr. Stammberger founded and still serves on the judgesí panel of the annual RSA Conference and also serves as the Communications Director for the CSO Council, a security industry nonprofit.
Mocanaís Device Security Framework provides device manufacturers with protection against existing and emerging threats, as well as faster time to market for new products and reduced support costs that result from device malfunction due to malware. Mocana continues to add to its growing base of customers that include leading device manufacturers such as Dell, Nortel, Symbol and Honeywell. Further fueling its growth in the device space, Mocana finalized technology partnerships with leading embedded vendors Freescale and QNX as well.
"Device manufacturers are just beginning to understand that when a device is hijacked or rendered inoperative by hackers, they are left answering the tough questions of how and why it happened, said Adrian Turner, CEO of Mocana. "Mocana is changing the way these manufacturers treat security and, in turn, changing the value they bring to their customers and shareholders. We are pleased to partner with these investors to capitalize on the early market leadership position that we have built.."
About Southern Cross Venture Partners
Southern Cross Venture Partners was launched in 2006 by veteran venture capitalists who have managed and operated companies themselves. Southern Cross assists early-stage technology companies that demonstrate the potential for exceptional growth and market leadership to build significant businesses. The founding principle of Southern Cross is partnership - we are passionately committed to doing everything we can to help our portfolio companies succeed. Our team has a strong record of utilizing their start-up and management experience, industry knowledge, network of business/customer relationships and recruiting skills to assist in building significant shareholder value. For more information go to www.sxvp.com.
About Shasta Ventures
Shasta Ventures is a leading venture capital firm located in Menlo Park, CA. Shasta Ventures manages $460 million of venture capital to invest in early stage technology companies serving consumer and enterprise customers. The fund pursues investment opportunities within the infrastructure, software and technology-enabled service sectors. For more information on Shasta Ventures, please visit www.shastaventures.com.
About Mocana
Mocana securely enables Internet-scale applications and services for connected devices. Mocana's industry-leading infrastructure software solutions ensure that wired and wireless devices, networks and services perform and scale with the utmost security – a necessary foundation for a networked society. Customers include Philips, Dell, Cisco, Nortel Networks, Harris, Honeywell, Symbol, Net.com and Radvision, among others. Mocana was founded in 2002, is privately-held, and headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company has been recognized with numerous awards including the Red Herring 100 and Frost & Sullivan’s Innovation of the Year. To request a free full source code and documentation evaluation of Mocana's security solutions, visit www.mocana.com/evaluate.html.
Media contact:
Gregory P. Funaro
Acount Representative
Lois Paul & Partners
781-782-5896
Greg_Funaro@lpp.com
For Immediate Release
|
