Encrypted comms company Silent Circle closes $50M Series C
Summary
Encrypted comms company Silent Circle, which also makes a security-focused Android smartphone called the Blackphone, has announced it’s closed a $50 million Series C round of financing, led by Santander Bank. The company was in the news recently on account of a lawsuit brought against it by former business partner Geeksphone for non-payment of an outstanding $5 million, relating to the sale of the latter’s half of the joint venture. Since buying out its hardware partner in the Blackphone joint venture Silent Circle has shifted from more of a prosumer focus with the original Blackphone smartphone sales pitch to pushing what it dubs an enterprise privacy platform business — which brings together a suite of software services, such as its Silent Phone secure calling, messaging and file sharing software with encrypted calling plans that expand secure calling to non-subscribers, and user management services via a web-based admin console that targets businesses needing to manage mixed estates of iOS and Android handsets in a BYOD world. Silent Circle’s hardware foray with the Blackphone was supposed to complement this software platform strategy but court documents from the litigation reveal that the first generation device in fact failed to deliver the expected sales, forcing Silent Circle to fall back on its software business and cut operational costs, including making significant staff reductions. As Chief Legal Officer he brings a valuable skillset, both as the firm moves through its current litigation and positions itself to experience even more growth and momentum in the enterprise privacy market.
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