Ionic Security gets $9.4M led by Kleiner Perkins to better protect company data in the cloud

Ionic Security, a cloud and mobile security company, has raised a $9.4 million Series A1 round of funding led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB). Also participating in the round were Atlanta-based TechOperators and early investors including security entrepreneurs Ken Levine and Dr. Paul Judge. The company says that the investment will be used to bring on more engineers and to help promote sales of its security platform within the enterprise.

Formerly known as Social Fortress, Ionic Security takes identity and access management and combines it with policy enforcement and usage auditing centered around data. By doing so, companies can better control their data without needing gateways.

Put another way, Ionic Security says it can allow users to take advantage of SaaS applications while being regulatory compliant. Users should also be able to share data safely with employees, partners, and customers while also applying time-sensitive or data location protection policies.

“Enterprises want to take advantage of the reduced costs and increased usability of Web and mobile applications, but hesitate due to security concerns,” says company CEO Steve Abbott. He thinks that his Fusion platform product will offer the necessary security his customers need to approve moving data to the cloud.

The idea for Ionic Security came about when 25-year old Adam Ghetti didn’t feel his data was being protected by services he was using. He aimed to build a company that allows workers to do their jobs wherever they are while securing their data from vulnerabilities found in the cloud, regardless of device.

So far, companies in regulated and highly-secure industries such as defense, healthcare, and finance have expressed interest in Ionic Security. It is also being used in North America and in Europe.

With this new capital, KPCB’s general partner Ted Schlein and TechOperators partner Tom Noonan will join Ionic Security’s board of directors. To date, it has raised $11.44 million, with $2.04 million coming from its earlier incarnation as Social Fortress.

Photo credit: YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP/Getty Images