DALLAS & TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Island, developer of the Enterprise Browser, announced it has added a select group of investor advisors to its strong bench of strategic partners, including Silicon Valley CISO Investments (SVCI); Joe Sexton, former President AppDynamics; Mickey Boodaei, co-founder and CEO of Transmit Security and Rakesh Loonkar, co-founder and President of Transmit Security.
Co-founder and CEO Mike Fey and co-founder and CTO Dan Amiga brought Island Enterprise Browser to market earlier this month after operating in stealth for 18 months and securing nearly $100 million in funding from prominent early-stage investors including Insight Partners, Sequoia Capital, Cyberstarts and Stripes. As the first browser built for the enterprise, the Island Enterprise Browser delivers advanced IT and security capabilities, while providing the streamlined Chromium-based experience end users expect. With security built into design, enterprises can control and govern critical applications and the underlying data, without compromising privacy or performance.
“Our investors have proven to be one of our greatest assets, providing invaluable insights that have helped us shape the Enterprise Browser into the game-changing innovation it is today,” said Mike Fey, co-founder, CEO, Island. “We actively seek out funding partners who are eager to contribute much more than capital with their measured guidance and a shared interest in a new category of software. These investors are a natural fit for Island.”
SVCI Delivers Deep Domain Expertise
SVCI brings together over 60 active CISOs to provide personal investments and mentorship to cybersecurity companies spanning a variety of industries. Members are invite-only and rigorously vetted, and together provide over 600 years of experience in the industry. The organization’s investment strategy is mentorship-driven, with services including 1:1 peer feedback, networking, group brainstorming and more. As one of 11 companies in SVCI’s expanding portfolio, Island will receive hands-on support and real-world insight from industry leading CISOs to continue its expansion.
“As a CISO-powered fund investment vehicle focused on early-stage cybersecurity innovation, we’re able to draw on our first-hand experience to tap into the market in unprecedented ways,” said Hilik Kotler, CISO at SoFi and member of SVCI. “We know what will move the needle for CISOs because we’re facing the challenges every day. Our mission is to support promising start-ups to help foster the next generation of cybersecurity innovation, and our partnership with Island fully represents that mission. The Enterprise Browser is on track to completely redefine how we work, and SVCI is thrilled to be a part of it.”
“The unique challenges of protecting a hybrid workforce are forcing us to rethink enterprise security architectures to meet these dynamics,” said Dave Estlick, CISO of Chipotle, “The Island Enterprise Browser is revolutionary, but also really simple. It effectively secures the most critical resources, while ensuring users can operate with a completely familiar experience. We are very excited to participate in helping Island redefine the future of work.”
“Transformational technologies with the potential to reimagine an industry are rare,” said Steve Pugh, CISO of ICE (Intercontinental Exchange), “Island’s Enterprise Browser has the core attributes we look for in technology – a brilliant idea, engineering genius, an experienced management team and a large market disruption capability.”
Joe Sexton: Renowned Cybersecurity Go-to-Market Expert
A mentor to countless professionals across information technology sales, Joe Sexton has led and created the go-to-market strategies for such organizations as AppDynamics, McAfee and Mercury Interactive. Joe has also served in countless board-of-directors positions and is highly sought after for his experience and expertise in building go-to-market excellence.
“As a long-time investor and leader in cyber security, I know that true success comes from a great idea and world-class engineering, paired with extremely solid go-to-market execution. You can’t get there with just one of those,” said Sexton, a veteran cyber security executive and board member for some of the most innovative companies in security today. “Island has assembled an incredibly talented and experienced leadership team that can take this amazing concept of the Enterprise Browser all the way. I look forward to helping them along what seems to be, already, an incredible journey.”
Mickey Boodaei and Rakesh Loonkar: Cybersecurity Pioneers
Co-founders of Transmit Security, Mickey Boodaei and Rakesh Loonkar have been founders and early investors in many of the most well-known companies in cybersecurity.
“Security and user experience are two essential goals of any successful organization,” said Boodaei, CEO of Transmit Security and cyber security investor. “The Island Enterprise Browser blends those two often competing goals so simply and powerfully, that I believe it will transform how CISOs think about security and eventually, how CIOs think about productivity. This is a game-changing idea, and we are really excited about the opportunity to invest.”
“In building Transmit Security, we focused on making something that is difficult and complex, effortless. The Island Enterprise Browser has that same appeal because it simultaneously solves a multitude of really big problems for CISOs, while also reducing friction for users,” said Rakesh Loonkar, President and Co-founder of Transmit Security. “We invest in big idea, early-stage innovators, and we can’t wait to work with the Island team to help drive additional growth.”
About SVCI
SVCI is an invite-only community of 60 Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) turned angel investors. With a vast representation of industries, locations, and 600+ years of cumulative cybersecurity expertise, the organization’s mission is to fuel the next generation of cybersecurity innovation by identifying promising early-stage startups, investing in them, and using its unmatched industry expertise to help them thrive.
About Island
Island, the Enterprise Browser is the ideal enterprise workplace, where work flows freely while remaining fundamentally secure. With the core needs of the enterprise naturally embedded in the browser itself, Island gives organizations complete control, visibility and governance over the last mile, while delivering the same smooth Chromium-based browser experience users expect. Led by experienced leaders of the enterprise security and browser technology space and backed by leading venture funds – Insight Partners, Sequoia Capital, Cyberstarts and Stripes – Island is redefining the future of work for some of the largest, most respected enterprises in the world. Island is based in Dallas with research and development in Tel Aviv and can be reached at info@island.io or (866)832-7114.
