Computing hardware producer Dell is set to exit US-based antivirus software developer Invincea after cybersecurity firm Sophos agreed yesterday to acquire it in a deal initially sized at $100m.
Invincea develops software that uses and behavioural monitoring and deep-learning neural-network algorithms to detect and fight malware. Its customers mainly stem from the US government and the healthcare and financial services industries.
The company had raised approximately $39m in funding, according to press releases and regulatory filings.
The most recent portion of that funding was the $10m Invincea received from Dell’s corporate venturing unit, Dell Ventures, financial services firm Comerica Bank, New Atlantic Ventures, Harbert Ventures and Orix Growth Capital, a subsidiary of financial services provider Orix, in November 2016.
Dell Ventures had already co-led Invincea’s series C round with Aeris Capital, investing together with Harbert Ventures, New Atlantic Ventures and Grotech Ventures. The $16m first tranche was raised in late 2013 before the round was closed at $17.3m the following year.
Sophos will pay $100m in cash for Invincea, with an additional $20m available as an earnout payment. Invincea Labs, a cybertechnology research subsidiary Invincea formed in 2012, will not be included in the deal and will in future operate separately.
Kris Hagerman, CEO of Sophos, said: “Invincea is leading the market in machine learning-based threat detection with the combination of superior detection rates and minimal false positives.
“Invincea will strengthen Sophos’ leading next-gen endpoint protection with complementary predictive defences that we believe will become increasingly important to the future of endpoint protection and allow us to take full advantage of this significant new growth opportunity.”