Operator Partners
This week’s deals reflect a trend we called out last week of tech incumbents making more acquisitions to consolidate market share - particularly as a way to bundle platforms across solution segments and capture market share globally (something our 2021 landscape calls out with the emerging influence of cybersecurity-adjacent segments). Okta’s $6.5 billion acquisition of Auth0 to strengthen its IAM solution emphasizes this, as does Thycotic’s $1.4 billion acquisition (via LBO) by Centrify to wed PAM and password management capabilities. Investment activity for TripleBlind ($8.2 million) and Identiq ($47 million) also echo this growing interest in regional expansion and network growth for the identity services these platforms deliver.
Developer of a cryptographic platform designed to share, leverage and monetize regulated data. The company's patented breakthroughs in advanced mathematics arm organizations regulate data, such as PII and PHI, and mission-critical enterprise data, such as tax returns and banking transactions, its cryptographic, efficient, and scalable data privacy, and data cleanroom replaces ineffective workarounds, enabling decision-makers to generate new revenue for their organizations by gaining new and deeper insights faster, creating improved modeling and analysis with better data, and collaborating more effectively with customers, partners and even competitors for mutual benefit.
The company raised $8.2 million of venture funding in a deal led by Dolby Family Ventures on March 1, 2021. Okta Ventures, Accenture Ventures, Flyover Capital, KCRise Fund, NextGen Venture Partners, Operator Partners, Wavemaker Three-Sixty Health, Anorak Ventures, Quiet Capital, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Manresa Ventures, Alumni Ventures Group and Parity Responsible Technology Fund and other undisclosed investors also participated in the round. The funds will be used towards R&D as it looks to expand the international reach of its products.
Developer of a secure enterprise password management platform designed to offer cybersecurity. The company's platform offers secure enterprise password management which prevents cyberattacks by securing passwords, protecting endpoints and controlling application access, enabling security companies to get an affordable way to discover, secure and manage privileged account passwords across their enterprise.
The company entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Centrify, via its financial sponsor TPG, through a $1.4 billion LBO on March 1, 2021. Previously, the company received approximately $10.32 million of development capital on September 8, 2020. The company is being actively tracked by PitchBook.
Developer of a peer-to-peer network built for validating users without using data providers. The company validates new users, leveraging fresh, accurate data to verify good user details, identify suspicious mismatches, and improve customer experience, enabling clients to collaborate to fight fraud together - without sharing any user data.
The company raised $47 million of Series A venture funding in a deal co-led by Insight Partners and Entrée Capital on March 3, 2021. Amdocs, Sony Innovation Fund, Slow Ventures, Vertex Ventures Israel and Oryzn Capital also participated in the round. The funds will be used to further accelerate its network growth, adding more members, each of which will improve the validation, quality and coverage for all members.
Founded in 2020, Operator Partners is a venture capital firm based in New York, New York. The firm seeks to invest in the information technology sector.
Active Portfolio - 49
Investments (TTM) - 33
Med. Round Amount - $7.30M
Med. Valuation - $27.80M
# of Exits - 1
Okta, Inc. addresses two primary security concerns via its workforce identity and customer identity solutions. The pureplay cybersecurity firm sells products to protect employees, contractors, and partners as well as its customers' end users. Okta's software solutions are cloud-delivered, and its integration network gives customers security protection across a wide variety of applications that are critical to business and government needs. The California-based company went public in 2017 and had over 2,100 employees at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2020.
Okta reached a definitive agreement to acquire Auth0 for $6.5 billion on March 3, 2021. The funds will be used to accelerate the companies' shared vision of enabling everyone to safely use any technology, shaping the future of identity on the internet.
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