An Atlanta-based startup that provides law enforcement with the technology to hack into iPhone data has raised a $47 million Series A investment to expand its sales and products.
Grayshift is a digital forensics company founded in 2016 by David Miles, Braden Thomas, Justin Fisher and Sean Larsson. Its goal is to allow law enforcement and government agencies to quickly gain access to encrypted data in iPhones to help with criminal investigations through its access tool, GrayKey.
Philadelphia-based PeakEquity Partners led the funding round, according to a Monday press release. Atlanta-based venture capital firm TechOperators also participated. Jim Sheward and Justin Reger, of PeakEquity, and Tom Noonan, of TechOperators, will join Grayshift’s board of directors.
The minority investment will fund growth in Grayshift’s sales and marketing, research and engineering teams and product options, according to the press release.
“In addition to doubling revenues, customer adoption and employee growth over the past year, I’m especially proud that we’ve built a successful digital forensics solution that provides lawful access during the course of criminal investigations,” Miles said in the release.
The company offers lawful, same-day data extractions from iPhones, which can be done on-site by law enforcement officers in departments that purchase GrayKey. About 1,000 agencies across 25 countries use GrayKey, according to the Grayshift website.
"Digital forensics is a growing, complex market with highly-nuanced and technical challenges," Reger said in the release. "Grayshift addresses these challenges head-on and raises the standard by which these technologies are measured.”
