Avecto, a UK-based endpoint security software company, announced on Wednesday that it has taken a $49 million investment from growth equity firm JMI Equity.
The company’s flagship “Defendpoint” security suite protects computers from malware and cyberattacks at the endpoint, by controlling and removing administrator rights (Privilege Management), dynamically allowing approved applications to run (Application Control), and isolating threats via Sandboxing.
Founded by entrepreneurs Mark Austin and Paul Kenyon in 2008, the company says it has experienced significant growth and serves over 600 enterprise clients, adding over 100 new customers per year for the past five years.
The company said its Defendpoint software is currently deployed on more than five million endpoints worldwide.
The the minority investment will help it grow and expedite R&D plans to support its product roadmap, the company said.
“The investment from JMI will enable us to significantly boost our capabilities as we add even more talent to all areas of the business in order to continue to deliver high value solutions to our expanding customer base,” said Paul Kenyon, co-CEO at Avecto. “JMI has significant experience in growing enterprise software companies which will be invaluable as we enter this new exciting chapter.”
According to a survey conduced by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) earlier this year, eighty-five percent of respondents said their organization plan to spend more on endpoint security. ESG said traditional endpoint security like antivirus and host-based firewalls that rely exact-match signatures and rules are struggling to keep up with the techniques used by today’s attackers.
“Enterprises are struggling to provide security on their endpoints while simultaneously ensuring a positive user experience,” said Jit Sinha, General Partner at JMI Equity. “Avecto has solved a critical pain point with Defendpoint, which organizations around the globe recognize as effective security protection.”
As part of the transaction, Sinhab and Suken Vakil, Principal, at JMI Equity will join the Board of Directors.
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