Servgate Bags $18M FundingServgate Bags $18M Funding

ServGate closes $18M mezzanine financing round led by ComVentures; names VP of corporate marketing and VP of business development

January 27, 2004

4 Min Read

MILPITAS, Calif. -- ServGate Technologies Inc. - the leading provider of integrated, modular network security platforms for the small and medium business (SMB) and distributed enterprise markets - announced it has closed an $18 million mezzanine round of funding led by ComVentures and appointed ComVentures partner Perry Wu to the ServGate board of directors.

The investment will be used to increase worldwide marketing and sales efforts and further accelerate the company's growth. ComVentures was joined by ServGate's existing institutional and private investors, including ChinaVest and WI Harper Group.

"We looked at many companies in this space and we're excited to get involved with ServGate because we believe it is well ahead of the competition," said Perry Wu of ComVentures. "ServGate built a platform that both the channel and customers want, which is clearly being demonstrated by the fast growth of the company."

ServGate is the developer of the world's only modular security system, the EdgeForce* platform, which uniquely performs full context inspection to block network attacks with integrated filtering of Web and email traffic to screen out spam, viruses, worms and URLs in real time. The EdgeForce platform's unique modular architecture enables new services and performance upgrades to be installed on all EdgeForce systems, enabling them to scale along with the growth of the customer's business and network needs.

The EdgeForce system is also the first to deliver Network Associates' (NYSE:NET) McAfee*-based spam- and virus-prevention solutions deployed on an integrated platform.

"Our mission is to deliver world class network protection with the flexibility and value our global customers require to ensure the optimal performance and security of their businesses," said Bruce Hendrix, president and CEO, ServGate. "This funding further validates ServGate's leadership and will strengthen our presence worldwide with enhanced marketing and sales programs, increased investment in engineering, and greater support among our global channel partners and customers."

In a separate release:

ServGate Technologies named Fortinet marketing executive Atchison Frazer as vice president of corporate marketing. Also, George Hendrix, an IT industry veteran of organizations such as VeriSign and the U.S. Air Force's Defense Communications Agency, was named vice president of business development.

The new ServGate executive appointments were announced in conjunction with the closing of the company's $18 million mezzanine round of venture funding led by ComVentures, in which it was also announced that ComVentures partner Perry Wu had joined the ServGate board of directors.

"ServGate's new funding combined with the strengthening of our management team signals further validation of our market positioning as the best security solutions provider to small and medium-size businesses, and distributed enterprise customers," said Bruce Hendrix, president and CEO, ServGate. "Atchison's blue chip brand marketing experience with HP, IBM and others, and George's broad knowledge and skill set in networking and security, make them ideally suited to help drive our market momentum into the profitability phase of ServGate's strong growth success story."

Frazer comes to ServGate from Fortinet, where he was responsible for corporate marketing, leading the company's outbound communications and positioning strategies in the network security arena. Prior to Fortinet, Atchison was co-founder and chief marketing officer of Black Ink Media, a UK-based Internet media concern, and previously ran external communications for HP's enterprise computing business unit. While at IBM, he played a key role in creating SMB affinity marketing programs.

"Small, fast-growing businesses need to keep their networks safe without spending a lot of time, money or resources doing so - affordability, simplicity, reliabability and proven security are all 'must-haves' that ServGate uniquely delivers," said Frazer.

Hendrix brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the unique challenges facing business, having more than 25 years experience in networking technologies, Internet security and e-business/e-commerce solutions. Over the his career, he has been responsible for multinational programs and developing business relationships with major international banking, airline and technology accounts, including Ascom, UBS, Swiss Air, IBM Managed Security Services, Sandia National Laboratories and Unisys.

ServGate Technologies Inc.

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