San Antonio—Internet cybersecurity startup Infocyte has added a $5.2 million Series B round of funding to build out sales of its flagship product, and has hired a new CEO.
Curtis Hutcheson, the former general manager of Dell’s software businesses focused on security, is taking the helm at San Antonio-based Infocyte, which sells software that automates the process of checking individual computers for malware—known as “threat hunting.” The new funding was led by Toba Capital, the Newport Beach, CA-based venture capital firm founded by Vinny Smith, the co-founder of Quest Software. LiveOak Venture Partners and Feik Enterprises also participated in the round.
As the general manager for Dell Software Security, Hutcheson oversaw the business when it sold to private equity firm Francisco Partners and hedge fund Elliott Management in 2016 in a deal that Reuters reported was worth more than $2 billion—part of Dell’s attempt to realign its balance sheet after acquiring Hopkinton, MA-based EMC for $67 billion, according to the news service. Before that, Hutcheson worked at SonicWall, which Dell acquired in 2012. Both SonicWall and Quest Software, which Dell also acquired in 2012, were part of the Dell Software Security sale to private equity.
Hutcheson is replacing Peter Klante as CEO, who was hired just a year ago when the company raised a $3.4 million Series A round, which was led by Austin, TX-based LiveOak. Klante succeeded Infocyte co-founder Chris Gerritz, who is still the company’s chief product officer. Klante was meant to serve only as interim CEO in order to help the company get a Series B round and find a permanent top executive, according to an e-mail from Gerritz.
Gerritz developed Infocyte’s technology and started the business in 2014 after taking medical retirement from the Air Force. As part of the Air Force’s Computer Emergency Response Team, Gerritz and his team responded to incidents and hacks into military computer networks, hunting down potentially undetected hackers lurking in the systems. Infocyte brought that type of malware-seeking software to the businesses.
The company says it plans to use the $5.2 million to help scale its flagship product, Infocyte Hunt.
