Cambridge, Ont.-based cybersecurity company eSentire has raised US$19.5 million (C$26.8 million) in a round of funding co-led by eastern U.S. fund Edison Partners and Toronto-based Georgian Partners.
ESentire, which protects mid-size businesses against cyberattacks using a combination of automation and 24/7 human analysis, put out a release on Wednesday announcing the raise and stating that the funds would be used for launching in to new locations and verticals.
Both Georgian Partners and Edison Partners had participated in eSentire’s previous Series C raise of $14 million in September, 2014. Other investors in both rounds are returning investors Cisco Investments of San Jose, Calif., and Northleaf Ventures Catalyst Fund of Toronto. A new investor in the latest round is Information Venture Partners II, of Toronto.
Founded in 2001, eSentire currently protects over $2.2 trillion in the assets for more than 500 clients. The company provides a service called Continuous Advanced Threat Protection, which monitors and solves cyber threats in real time and has been noted as a best practices framework by analyst firm Gartner Research.
CEO J. Paul Haynes stated that it is the company’s surveillance team that sets them apart from competitors.
“We offer clients real eyes on glass monitoring 24×7 and it works,” said Haynes, “This investment recognizes our success and will help us to continue to expand our reach to protect even more clients.”
Haynes adds that there is growing demand for cybersecurity services: “The business community is coming to terms with the new requirement for cybersecurity and the level of protection needed to defend themselves, and eSentire is ready to deliver in this environment where hyper-vigilance married to advanced technology makes the difference.”
In June 2015, eSentire opened its European headquarters in Cork, Ireland, with plans to significantly build their team in the region. In November, the company came in 42nd place in the Deloitte Fast 50, a list which assesses revenue growth of Canadian companies over a four-year span. The company had achieved 202% percent growth over that period.
Lenard Marcus, partner at Edison Partners, said in the statement that eSentire outshone the vast majority of investment opportunities with its impressive year over year growth.
“ESentire and its leadership team continue to prove their ability to innovate and effectively mitigate threats for its clients and its apparent their success isn’t slowing down,” he said.
