Virtru‘s mission is to bring end-to-end encryption to the masses by making it simple to install and seamless to use from inside any email service, including Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook and Mac Mail. Launched in January, Virtru is the only privacy tool that empowers individuals or enterprises to encrypt attachments, revoke messages, restrict forwarding and set expiration dates. These features can be activated even after the messages have already been sent to users of different email systems.
“Because it’s so complex to securely manage encryption keys, nearly all of the world’s 180 billion daily emails are sent completely unprotected, despite the relentless loss of private messages and files that haunts us all,” noted BVP Partner David Cowan. “Bessemer set out to find a simple, user-friendly solution, and so I was delighted to discover a brilliant team with the right vision, crypto skills, and unwavering commitment to privacy.”
Cowan, who co-founded cyber security companies VeriSign, Good Technology and Defense.net, will join Virtru’s board of directors. The company also announced that Authentic8 CEO Scott Petry, who founded the email security company Postini, will also join Virtu as a board member. In addition, the company is adding Wayne Jackson, CEO of Sonatype and former CEO of Sourcefire, to its board of advisors to help guide the company’s enterprise growth strategy.
“Virtru empowers people and businesses to take back control of their private information — on their terms and without unnecessary cost or complexity,”said John Ackerly, CEO and Co-Founder of Virtru. “BVP’s unparalleled track record in commercializing cyber security for individuals, enterprises and governments convinced us that they can help Virtru scale its service to achieve global adoption.”
Virtru’s browser plug-in and mobile apps are currently free to consumers, with the introduction of commercial features for business users coming soon. The team also has plans to expand beyond email security to secure texts, posts, tweets, and other digital platforms. To learn more about Virtru and download the product visit http://www.virtru.com/
About Virtru
Virtru is the first company to make email privacy accessible to everyone. With a single plug-in, Virtru empowers individuals and businesses to control who receives, reviews, and retains their digital information — wherever it travels, throughout its lifespan. The company has set a new standard for digital privacy based on the Trusted Data Format (TDF), created by Virtru Co-Founder Will Ackerly and used by the U.S. intelligence community to secure some of the nation’s most sensitive data. Virtru requires no special skills or knowledge, supports all popular email and file types, and can be used on a PC, Mac, or mobile device. To learn more about the company, visit www.virtru.com and follow @virtruprivacy on Twitter.
About Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) invests in early-stage, hyper-growth startups, partnering closely with entrepreneurs to build durable businesses. BVP is a global firm with offices in Menlo Park, Cambridge, New York, Mumbai, Bangalore, Herzliya and Sao Paulo. With $4 billion under management, BVP invests anywhere from $100,000 to $75 million in innovative companies like LinkedIn, Yelp, Skype, CornerstoneOnDemand, Pinterest, Box and Twilio. BVP has funded 34 cyber security companies, and over 100 BVP companies have gone public. Learn more at http://bvp.com and follow us on Twitter @BessemerVP.
