Dublin-based e-security hardware provider AEP Systems has raised an additional US$3.3m in venture capital from its existing investors, bringing total investment in the company to over US$20m.
Existing investors b-business, ACT, Island and Mentor Capital all contributed to the latest round of funding. The investment will be used to expand the company’s latest product offering AEP SureWare A-Gate, a secure socket layer (SSL), virtual private network (VPN) remote access appliance that was launched earlier this year.
Last year AEP raised around US$17m and established regional offices in Boston, Palo Alto, Washington DC and Hong Kong as well as hiring sales staff in the US, Asia and Europe and launching a sales and partner programme to expand its distribution network. Channel partners include Bell Micro in the US and Entec in Europe. The company says the latest investment will primarily fund the sales and marketing focus in the US.
“The funding is an important component in our operational plan as we complete the transition to being a commercial entity. In the past eight months we have made an acquisition, strengthened our management team and stepped-up our sales and marketing efforts,” said Pat Donnellan, AEP Systems’ CEO. “Based on the positive feedback we are receiving from industry analysts and customers, we will step up our product initiatives for SureWare A-Gate.”
Dan Maher, head of technology strategy at ACT, one of the investors in AEP Systems, commented: “AEP Systems has made significant progress positioning itself as a competitor in the global marketplace since receiving funding last year. With a full range of tried and tested products and an experienced management team, we are confident AEP Systems can compete in the growing and competitive securities market”.
By John Kennedy
