It’s been a quick journey for the Virtru team from a small apartment in Adams Morgan to a spacious, clean office in the heart of D.C. Add to that a cool $40 million funding round, and things are really picking up steam for the email encryption company.
Virtru moved into the new space in January, before it was totally built out. Interior construction and design work by Wingate Hughes Architects wrapped up in May, leaving the company with 50 desks in the office, a generously sized kitchen and lounge space and several meeting rooms (covered entirely with whiteboard paint).
What sticks out immediately in the space are strings of letters and numbers covering several of the white and yellow walls. The entire string, by my estimation at least 1,000 characters, is one encrypted email message, the content of which remains secret from most of the employees. On another four-sided structural pillar, the encryption code is likewise printed out from floor to ceiling.
Founded by John Ackerly and his brother Will, a former National Security Agency security engineer, the 5-year-old company’s platform helps protect users’ sensitive data, such as regulated content and intellectual property, even as it is shared inside and outside an organization.
Virtru’s software encrypts messages sent to and from a user’s email client without requiring a separate log-in, user interface or application. It uses patented technology combined with what’s called the Trusted Data Format, an encryption method that CTO Will Ackerly invented during his NSA stint.
The company reports having 8,000 customers, including media companies, state governments, healthcare organizations and financial institutions, having added 3,000 customers in 2017. For example, a contract with the Maryland state government means 10,000 police officers and law enforcement staffers can use the app to encrypt their communications.
A couple features stick out besides the encrypted wall email – a “retreat booth” in the center of the office has gazebo-style benches encased in acoustical material that drowns our background noise, even without walls on either side. Nearby are two completely soundproof Framery “pods” shipped in from Scandinavia that are encased in glass, creating an almost spooky quiet inside.
John Ackerly said Europe’s GDPR privacy standards and the renewed discussion around data privacy is helping Virtru gain traction in many industries, especially in Europe, where the company is opening satellite offices to support its customers there.
Back here in D.C., he said, it soon plans to double its space in its building as it expands its 85-person workforce.
Several software engineers work full-time in Ukraine, and some of the office’s desks remain open for hoteling engineers that work remotely. It just hired a second U.K. employee, has a small group in the Philippines and more staffers in California and Texas.
In late August, Virtru announced a nearly $40 million Series B funding round led by San Francisco-based Iconiq Capital. Also participating were Bessemer Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Samsung NEXT, Soros Capital, Blue Delta, and Thyra Global. The company previously raised a $29 million Series A in 2016.
Check out the new digs below:
