Medical Software Maker Imprivata Raises $66.3M in IPO

The Boston-area tech industry saw another company graduate to the public markets on Wednesday with Imprivata’s IPO, which netted the healthcare software provider an estimated $66.3 million.

Imprivata shares (NYSE: [[ticker:IMPR]]) traded slightly higher in early market activity, which is a good sign that the company and its earlier investors didn’t leave too much money on the table.

The Lexington, MA-based company was founded in 2002 in the startup incubator run by Polaroid. Its original aim was a more general field of identity management and user authentication software, but the company eventually found a receptive market in the healthcare industry.

Today, Imprivata is best known for its software that helps doctors and other providers access health IT systems and electronic medical records. The company says its flagship software is used in about 18 percent of U.S. hospitals, along with facilities in other countries. In its IPO filing, Imprivata said it sees potential growth in adding other types of healthcare practices to its portfolio.

Imprivata’s revenue has climbed in the past three years, hitting $71.1 million in 2013. But the company’s profitability has worsened over that span, and Imprivata ended last year with a $5.5 million loss.

Imprivata’s biggest stockholders before the IPO were venture firms General Catalyst Partners, Highland Capital Partners, and Polaris Partners, each of which owns about 25 percent of the company.

Author: Curt Woodward

Curt covered technology and innovation in the Boston area for Xconomy. He previously worked in Xconomy’s Seattle bureau and continued some coverage of Seattle-area tech companies, including Amazon and Microsoft. Curt joined Xconomy in February 2011 after nearly nine years with The Associated Press, the world's largest news organization. He worked in three states and covered a wide variety of beats for the AP, including business, law, politics, government, and general mayhem. A native Washingtonian, Curt earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. As a past president of the state's Capitol Correspondents Association, he led efforts to expand statehouse press credentialing to online news outlets for the first time.