For tech startups, it is all about funding. And for mobile security vendor Lookout, a new round of funding has seen it receive $150 million that should help ease the transition from concept to consumer market.
The company also is getting some big names to jump on board, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' Bezos Expeditions.
For Lookout, the goal of bringing top-notch security for the world's mobile devices has been its priority. As more and more users establish their device as their means of banking and doing business, Lookout hopes that its security solutions will help bring privacy and security to the forefront of the consumer tech industry.
The $150 million should help do that. Beyond Bezos Expedition, others believing there is something in Lookout are Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Wellington Management and Goldman Sachs.
Last fall, the startup received $55 million from Deutsch Telekom and Qualcomm's venture arm and a few others. With the $150 million, Lookout has thus far received around $280 million in funding.
"The market opportunity is huge, so as you can imagine there are a lot of legacy vendors like Symantec and new entrants entering the space," Lookout CEO Jim Dolce was quoted as saying.
Earlier this year, Lookout grabbed Dolce, a former Juniper Networks and Akamai executive, as CEO and company founder John Hering became chairman. The goal for Dolce is to bring in expertise on how to bring the company's concepts into the consumer realm and allow Lookout to take control of the mobile security market.
While the company does have around 50 million users globally, it plans on using the latest round of funding to help bridge the gap between big business and the everyday mobile device user and their smartphones, a field where Lookout believes it can be a pioneer for personal mobile security.
"Then with our small and medium business announcement in the fall, we moved upwards to the tens of units. This is up yet again to the Forbes Global 2000, to the companies with 5,000 users and more. But it's all on the same platform," says Dolce.
Security and privacy have become top issues for the tech world and the general public over the past 18 months since whistleblower Edward Snowden told the world about the massive surveillance project that the National Security Agency was undertaking against American citizens. Even as more individuals want better security for their products and devices, it appears there is still a ways to go before that is a reality.
A Hewlett-Packard report showed that the majority of Internet of Things (IoT) devices were susceptible to hackers, and it indicates there is much work to be done to ensure the privacy and security that users expect, Tech Times reports. The technology needs improving, HP said, adding it has found numerous devices with back-door security issues.
The study also pointed to 10 common devices being used, highlighting smart thermostats, smart TVs and webcams. HP said each device has some 25 problems and vulnerabilities that could threaten the privacy and security of its users.
Lookout believes that it can be the stop-gap for users and the new funding should help them mechanize their efforts even further.
