Lavrock Ventures is looking to invest in North American Cybersecurity startups after reportedly pulling in $25m for its first fund.
The close of the fund comes just two years since the early-stage investment house was founded, according to FinSMEs. It will focus on B2B companies, investing in startups across the cybersecurity, enterprise software and national security sectors.
It will make investments of between $1m and $3m as part of $3m to $8m financings, with a preference towards leading the round.
The firm’s portfolio already includes 10 companies, including Sixgen, a cybersecurity firm that provides products and services to private as well as public sector clients, and ID.me, an online identity network that enables end users to prove their legal identity and attributes of their identity.
Based just outside Washington D.C, the firm was founded by Jim Hunt, Daniel Hanks and Steve Smoot.
After Hunt’s eight-year tenure as a scientist for the US Government, he founded BDS, a government-focused systems integrator, where he raised VC funding, merged with BTG, and ultimately took the combined company public.
Subsequently, Hunt was the founder of two successive systems integration practices, first with Price Waterhouse and then with Ernst and Young, before serving as president of Cap Gemini Technologies. He was also a founding member of Blu Venture Investors.
Prior to founding Lavrock in 2016, Smoot spent nearly five years at Blu Venture Investors, a seed-stage investment firm where he was responsible for deal sourcing, due diligence, transaction structuring, and portfolio management. He also co-founded Authentag, a software company that provides supply chain security solutions through unique item and identity management for counterfeit prevention, targeted recalls, and granular supply chain visibility.
Hanks was previously an investor with JMI Equity, a tech-focused growth equity firm, where he was an active investor in software and technology-enabled services companies and was responsible for sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio company initiatives. He also served as a director with Pagnato Karp, a multi-family office in Reston, VA, and he was also the founder and CEO of SnapDash, a consumer mobile app company in the social photography space.
Last month, BNP Paribas Capital Partners launched a new investment fund to back financial services and insurance startups. The vehicle will look to make direct minority stakes in companies that align with BNP’s open innovation strategy. It will also inject indirect investments through venture capital funds that are focusing on backing AI, data, blockchain, and cybersecurity, startups.
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
