Exclusive: Virtru, data security company, raises $50 million Series D as valuation hits $500 million

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SEE FULL BIO Will and John Ackerly of Virtru

Courtesy of VirtruFor John Ackerly, his time in the Bush Administration made him think seriously data’s importance—not only from a security and nological perspective, but a societal one. “I was in the room as the Patriot Act rolled through,” said Ackerly, who served as associate director for the White House National Economic Council from 2001 to 2002

At the time, the government had gained access to a lot of the data that es and establishments collected U

However, over time, norms have changed, he added: “This was before the cloud, before Gmail, and before we’d seen major impacts on trust in our society. ” Government service runs in the Ackerly family—Will, John’s brother, spent the better part of a decade at the NSA, Trusted Data Format (TDF), still used today by the U

Intelligence community for the transfer of highly-sensitive data

John left government in 2004, and Will left in 2012, as the two set out to found data security company Virtru in 2012. “The vision was always securing all data everywhere,” said Ackerly. “Fast forward, and we’ve hung on fiercely to that mission

Other participants in the round include Bessemer Venture Partners, Foundry, and The Chertoff Group

The Series D values Virtru—whose customers include Equifax, Capital One, JPMorganChase, Salesforce, and the U

Though cybersecurity and data companies have both soared in terms of valuation and expectations in recent years, particularly within the AI boom, Virtru has been a slow burn, long-term story. “We never maximize headline price,” said Ackerly. “We’ve always maximized the right deal at the right time to continue to build this company boulder by boulder, brick by brick. ” In Virtru’s early days, the company started with an encryption duct using Trusted Data Format

In the time since, Virtru has expanded its platform, looking to become a data security leader in an AI-driven landscape that’s made data more important than ever, said Iconiq partner Will Griffith. “Data security is fundamental in a world that’s increasingly more connected and AI-enabled,” said Griffith. “The Holy Grail is to tag and manage data wherever it goes. ” I asked Ackerly how all his years working in data security have affected how he views data privacy—he tends to write lots of things down in journals, pen and paper, old school—and what privacy really means. “The way I think privacy is that it’s not secrecy,” said Ackerly. “Privacy is the power to selectively reveal yourself to the world

In this new era, that’s a foundationally important concept. ” See you Monday, Allie GarfinkleX: @agarfinks: alexandra

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Monta Vista Capital led the round and was joined by Arc Ventures, Armory Square Ventures, Emergent Ventures, and more

Private Equity- Arclight Capital Partners agreed to acquire Middletown Energy Center, a Butler County, Ohio-based top natural gas fired power generation plant

Financial terms were not disclosed. - Apryse, backed by Thoma Bravo and Silversmith Capital Partners, acquired Scanbot SDK, a Bonn, Germany-based mobile scanning and data capture vider, and Accusoft, a Tampa-based document and imaging solutions company

Financial terms were not disclosed. - StormTrap, backed by PSP Capital, acquired Faircloth Skimmer, a Hillsborough, North Carolina-based manufacturer of surface drain dewatering devices

Financial terms were not disclosed. - Main Post Partners agreed to acquire a minority stake in Smoothie King, a Dallas-based retail smoothie chain

Financial terms were not disclosed. - Rehlko, backed by Platinum Equity, agreed to acquire The Wilmott Group, a Nottingham-based supplier of back-up power solutions in the United Kingdom

Financial terms were not disclosed. - Liberty Hall Capital Partners acquired Paxia, a Herndon, Virginia-based catering management software company

Financial terms were not disclosed. - Bazaar nologies, backed by Dragoneer Investment Group, acquired Keenu, a Karachi, Pakistan-based payment solution vider

Financial terms were not disclosed. - Datavant, backed by New Mountain Capital, acquired Aetion, a New York City-based healthcare nology company

Financial terms were not disclosed. - Osceola Capital recapitalized GC Restoration, a Miami-based exterior structural restoration company

Financial terms were not disclosed

Exits- GENDA acquired Player One Amusement Group, an Ontario-based seller, distributor, and operator of amusement equipment, from OpenGate Capital

Financial terms were not disclosed

Other- Amplitude acquired Kraftful, a San Francisco-based AI-native Voice of Customer startup

Financial terms were not disclosed. - Alpaca acquired WealthKernel, a London-based wealth firm specializing in digital investment infrastructure and tax-advantaged ducts

Financial terms were not disclosed. - Torch, a leadership and organizational strategy intelligence platform, acquired Praxis Labs, a Brooklyn-based AI learning platform for es

Financial terms were not disclosed

IPOS- Shoulder Innovations, a Grand Rapids, Mich. -based medical nology company, filed to go public on the NYSE

Venture Partners, Lightstone Ventures, cultivate(MD), Gilmartin Capital Fund, and Arboretum Ventures back the company

PEOPLE- Sunna Ventures, a Palo Alto-based climate-focused venture capital firm, hired Luisa Sucre as a general partner

She was previously a principal at Collaborative Fund

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