WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bit9 Inc., the leader in Advanced Endpoint Protection, today announced it has raised $12.5 million in additional capital, bringing the total raised over the past year to $23 million. Founding investor Atlas Venture led the round, with existing investors – Highland Capital Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, and .406 Ventures – participating and new investor Paul Capital joining the round. Bit9 will use the funds to accelerate the company’s growth to meet increasing global demand for endpoint security, a market expected to reach $10 billion by 2014.
Over the past year, demand for Bit9’s technology has escalated across industry segments such as government, defense, healthcare and retail. As sophisticated cyber-attacks emerge such as Aurora and Stuxnet, enterprises are seeking new methods for protecting IT assets, sensitive financial and customer data and their reputations. Bit9 security solutions provide total visibility and control over all software on endpoints, eliminating the risk caused by modern malware, targeted attacks and Advanced Persistent Threats.
“Bit9 is fundamentally changing the way endpoints are protected against targeted and advanced cyber-attacks by empowering IT teams to control precisely what software is allowed to run and prevent unauthorized downloads from executing,” said Bit9 CEO Patrick Morley. “High demand for our unique approach resulted in triple-digit revenue growth in 2010, including 60 percent growth in new customer acquisition, a doubling of revenue from the channel and a healthy 30 percent of sales from existing customers.”
The investment will allow Bit9 to invest in new product development, expand across Europe and ramp up sales and marketing. Industry benchmarking firm IDC anticipates the endpoint security market to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.3 percent from 2010 to 2014, reaching nearly $10 billion by 2014, up from $6.6 billion in 2009. Bit9 is well-positioned to scale operations to meet this market need.
“Sophisticated and targeted cyber-attacks are forcing businesses to evolve their protection strategies to include application whitelisting technologies as a core component,” said Jeff Fagnan of Atlas Venture. “Bit9 has been a vanguard in this space and is poised to take advantage of the global market opportunity, with the right mix of people, technology innovation and funds to move the company to the next level.”
For additional information about this investment or to set up an interview with Bit9 CEO Patrick Morley or another executive, please contact Dave McKee or Jill Reed of Schwartz Communications at bit9@schwartzcomm.com or at (781) 684-0770.
About Bit9
Bit9 is the leader in Advanced Endpoint Protection. The company's award-winning solutions provide total visibility and control over all software on endpoints, eliminating the risk caused by modern malware, targeted attacks and Advanced Persistent Threats.
Bit9 leverages the Bit9 Global Software Registry™ -- the world's largest database of software intelligence -- to identify and classify software, delivering the highest levels of endpoint security, compliance and manageability. The company's global customers come from a wide variety of industries, such as government, financial services, retail, healthcare, e-commerce and education.
Bit9 was awarded a prestigious $2M United States federal research grant in 2003 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology-Advanced Technology Program (NIST ATP) to conduct the research that is now at the core of our application whitelisting solutions. Bit9 is privately held and based in Waltham, Massachusetts. For more information, visit http://www.bit9.com/ or call +1 617.393.7400.