Its not often that university research evolves into a multi-million dollar acquisition deal.
But that's what recently happened for Srinivas Mukkamala, who commercialized digital security and forensics technology developed at New Mexico Tech after receiving his Ph.D. in computer science from the university. RiskSense, which was cofounded by Mukkamala and Mark Fidel, was acquired last week for an undisclosed amount by Utah-based information technology firm Ivanti.
RiskSense started in 2006 as a spinoff of New Mexico Tech's Institute for Complex Additive Systems Analysis (ICASA), where the original technology was developed. It benefitted from a unique relationship with the ICASA and initially subcontracted much of its work to the national security and infrastructure research organization, where Mukkamala is a research scientist.
The partnership provided RiskSense with doctoral students trained to do the work — with Mukkamala's supervision — while also lowering overhead expenses. As part of the partnership, students chosen to work on the projects also gained industry experience.
By 2012, RiskSense was bidding on multi-billion dollar federal contracts. And in 2015, it opened its Albuquerque office and has considerably grown its workforce over the years. It currently has about 120 employees.
Finding venture capital to fund its growth proved a challenge, according to Mukkamala, who said RiskSense turned to Silicon Valley for financing as New Mexico has a relatively small number of venture capitalists. The company later closed its Series A and Series B funding rounds for a combined $26 million with help from Sun Mountain Capital in Santa Fe.
With RiskSense acquisition, Ivanti gains new technological capabilities to pair with its patching services — meant to identify and fix vulnerabilities that may lead to a hack. With RiskSense, Ivanti will be able to prioritize patches for vulnerabilities that present the highest risk.
Officials declined to disclose the specific terms of the deal, but Mukkamala said it was "probably one of the largest private deals in New Mexico," adding that it was worth a "lot more" than $10 million.
RiskSense offers products and services designed aimed at identifying and prioritizing cybersecurity risks, according to its website. But while many cybersecurity companies offer a limited range of security solutions, most customers are seeking "one-stop shops" where many types of services are available — made possible through acquisition deals.
Ivanti has made at least three other acquisitions since late 2020, recently purchasing Cherwell Software in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In August of last year, global private equity firm TA Associates announced an investment into Ivanti with plans to execute an "acquisition strategy."
“Given the security talent, given the IT talent we have, we plan to grow in New Mexico" post acquisition, Mukkamala said. RiskSense also has growth goals under Ivanti that are expected to lead to increased profitability, Fidel said.
RiskSense is also looking forward to expanding its services worldwide as part of Ivanti's footprint. It is in discussions about working with customers in Australia, India, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore and France, according to Mukkamala.
“All these assets together is building an amazing security company," Mukkamala said. "It makes perfect sense to have these two [sic] come together."
