As reported in VentureBeat, Ann Arbor-based cybersecurity startup Censys recently announced that it has raised a $2.6 million seed round led by GV and Greylock.
Censys is an information security software company levering technology originally developed as a University of Michigan research project led by J. Alex Halderman, Zakir Durumeric, and David Adrian — now Censys’ chief scientist, CTO, and principal engineer, respectively. In 2017, the company spun out of U-M under the leadership of Censys CEO Brian Kelly and COO Dave Corcoran. Censys currently has 60 customers, 13 employees, and has plans to more than double in size by the end of 2019.
“The Censys origin story provides great insight into Ann Arbor’s tech culture,” said Bill Mayer, Ann Arbor SPARK vice president of entrepreneurial services. “Duo Security originally attracted Brian to Ann Arbor and Dave relocated to Ann Arbor from Indiana to be part of our thriving tech ecosystem. As experienced entrepreneurs, they teamed up to successfully take a nascent technology from inside the University of Michigan and develop a viable company around the tech. When you match experienced serial entrepreneurs with the powerhouse research being done at U-M you have a formula for great new companies. Their ability to raise this round of capital speaks volumes about the future of Censys.”
Ann Arbor SPARK started working with Censys in late 2017 through our business acceleration programs and in 2018, the business development team showed the company some potential office spaces downtown Ann Arbor.
