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red herring Special Edition Volume 3 CONTENTS 42

this issue 7 Editor’s Note

8 Top 100 Companies: Europe The 100 most promising startups in Europe 26 Top 100 Companies: Asia

38 Cover Interview Qualys CEO Phillipe Courtot 48 Top 100 Companies: North America

4 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Red Herring Magazine

top 100 awards In this issue the Red Herring Top 100 awards highlights the most exciting startups from Europe, North America and Asia. Hundreds of companies from each region were reviewed in a rigorous 3-step process. Congratulations to all the winners.

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features 22 UX and Cyber Security 44 Remittance Railroad Averon CEO Wendell Brown talks to EMQ’s Solution took patience Red Herring 64 RepairPal 24 Drones and Wildfires Steering the auto industry into the future Drone startup Edgybees on saving lives 66 Security Automation 32 NetNumber CEO Doug Ranalli XM Cyber on why global security may The story of a serial entrepreneur get worse 34 Nomos System 68 AI’s Crossroads The universal translator for the Internet Sherpa positions itself wisely of Things 69 Unwinding the Spaghetti 36 Fixing System Failures Plutora talks complex DevOps FixStream knows how 72 Versa Networks 42 iDisclose CE Kelly Ahuja talks SD-WAN Making regulations easy

www.REDHERRING.com 5 Red Herring Magazine SPECIAL EDITION Volume 4

Advertise With Us! Generate publicity, increase brand awareness, and attract and engage future customers PUBLISHER Alex Vieux Red Herring is a global media DIRECTOR OF SALES company which unites the world’s best Sean Lee high-technology innovators, venture investors and FINANCE business decision makers Augustin Meloty-Kapella in a variety of forums. REPORTERS Peter Ward Sean Williams Our audience can be YOUR audience. ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN Kelly Harkins Designs.com FOR EDITORIAL QUERIES [email protected] Digital edition available online at Red Herring is published by Red Herring, Inc. www.redherring.com 7660 Fay Avenue, Suite H La Jolla, CA 92037 Telephone: (650) 461-9156 To participate or advertise in Red Herring events, contact [email protected] or Call (650) 461-9156 Write To Us! POSTMASTER: Please send change of addresses to: We would love to Red Herring hear from you. 7660 Fay Avenue, Suite H La Jolla, CA 92037 Send questions and comments to ISSN: 1080-076X [email protected] Printed in the USA or call (650) 461-9156 and leave us a message. www.redherring.com | © Copyright 2018.

6 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Editor’s Note Feature Story A new world is emerging in front of us.

It is bringing a message of ineluctable change that we must embrace.

odern economists used to where digitalization is reducing errors, selection process, and with all mandatory categorize sectors, segregating tightening the supply chain and disrupting humility, they managed to transform the agriculture, services and design, procurement and construction world. By 2018, one thing can be said that Mindustrial companies from each other. itself. From the time of the pyramids to few could have expected: old industries are The nomenclature was convenient because Leonardo da Vinci, building always ended being replaced at such a pace that within advanced countries featured more services with a bricklayer and some mortar, but the next ten years, only a handful of the while the third world was centered around even that is changing. past leading companies will transcend the rural output, with lesser capital to drive times. The technology sector obsoleted growth. It took less than 25 years, just a blip In fact, every sector is under siege. Digital billion dollar companies in the blink of in our world history, to wreck the model transformation, a fashionable seminar an eye. It is now signaling mandatory and substitute a new formula. topic, has already dwarfed traditional retirement to trillion dollar sectors. sectors. Disruptors, mostly startups, are Technology has disrupted most traditional capturing the differential value creation. Not all startups have the capacity to industries and is accelerating the redesign Companies are exploding overnight, based challenge incumbents. But those who of sectors at such a pace that global leaders, on shifting the focus from old fashioned can, such as Docusign and Dropbox and governments and the general press are well-run companies to upstarts which are others, are claiming huge restructuring overwhelmed. Even worse, their analysis redefining the metrics and the speed of within society. Old habits die hard, but rings hollow for they are based on past change. now they die faster than ever. A new world models, rather than current ones. is emerging in front of us. It is bringing Red Herring is witnessing these mini- a message of ineluctable change that we Let us take a couple of examples which revolutions one after the other, from the must embrace. That is the reason why, year are often highlighted by research from front row. Transversal technologies such after year, in spite of all adverse factors, CB Insights and other publications. First, as AI and blockchain are embedded into Red Herring continues to highlight these agritech, which now features companies a myriad of verticals. Each industry, from transformers in its Red Herring Top 100 enabling a longer life for fruit and insurance to banking, wellness, retail, Special Issue. vegetables, among other innovations. manufacturing or logistics, is turned upside down with new entrants recomposing The elimination of waste and the the landscape overnight. For the speed of monetization of agricultural output do change has never been so intricately mixed not only imply a transformation within with the disruption itself. the food chain, but also a rebalancing of the relationship between suppliers and Since 1993, a number of household names Alex Vieux, Western buyers. Also, take construction, have gone through the Red Herring Top 100 Editor-in-Chief and Publisher

www.REDHERRING.com 7 Top 100 Companies: Europe Europe: A-Z Andrew Alliance Nomos System AG AppSpotr Obiz Concept ArangoDB Omniflow, SA Argus Cyber Security Peaksel AudienceProject QualySense Avangate Salestools.io Bambwa AB Scoota BestMile SearchInk Betalo AB SeedLegals BioCatch SHERPA BoardMaps Simpleweb Brandura International Smappee Business-Insight SnapShot ByNoGame Online Games Social Party Inc. Cablato Splitit Calldorado ApS SpotMe Calyos Stormshield Cedato Stryking Entertainment GmbH CensorNet SwipeStox GmbH Chirp.io Talentsoft Collaborative Recycling Tappx connected-health.eu GmbH TasteHit CoScale The CoSMo Company Darktrace The Floow Limited Delair-Tech Thermosome Deposit Solutions GmbH TIPA-Corp Devialet Tradelab Disk Archive Corporation Ltd. Transmatico Dreams Ubi Transports eDevice Ubimax EyeFitU AG ubirimi.com FraudBuster Vendemore Gamexy VerseOne hedgehog lab Vionlabs AB Hutoma Artificial Intelligence SL Visedo Oy Ideol VisIC Technologies Insider Visionteractive Intent Technologies Volterion GmbH Interprefy Warwick Analytics IOVOX WebVenture Development iProtego WeCashUp Kado Wiredelta Kaptio Wittra Sweden AB LeanXcale xbird Level Up Media ZapGo Ltd MacPaw Zeetta Networks Market Logic Software AG zeotap Mozoo Zero Keyboard Netalizer Zervant Oy Nice People At Work (NPAW) Zingaya Inc.

8 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: Europe

Andrew Alliance Argus Cyber Security Bambwa AB www.andrewalliance.com argus-sec.com www.bambwa.com Piero Zucchelli OferBen-Noon Mårten Ohlin Life Sciences/Biotech Security Entertainment & Media Switzerland Israel Sweden

» Andrew Alliance is a liquid handling » Argus Cyber Security is one of the » Bambwa AB wants to revolutionize robot set to transform the reproducibility premier companies pioneering the content. How? By bringing the most and efficiency of laboratories across the automotive security field. In 2017 the relevant content to users with interactive world. The solution weighs just 10kgs Israeli firm, developed out of the country’s FM, internet radio stations and high and can be integrated into any lab within elite Unit 8200 intelligence corps, was quality content aimed primarily at the minutes. Andrew Alliance is the lab bought by Continental AG for $430m. emerging Asian and African markets. technician’s best friend - whatever their industry. BestMile AudienceProject bestmile.com AppSpotr www.audienceproject.com Raphael Gindrat www.appspotr.com Jacob Lachmann Cloud Computing Patric Bottne Marketing/Advertising/SEO Switzerland Internet/Online Denmark Sweden » BestMile empowers mobility service » Danish brand AudienceProject makes the providers to manage, operate and optimize » Sweden’s AppSpotr allows creative complex simple, helping brands, agencies, autonomous vehicle fleets. It allows professionals to make gorgeous, native publishers and e-commerce platforms operators to manage fixed-route and on- apps without any coding, and React Native identify, target and validate audiences. Its demand services, that are at the forefront of developers can make real money with their ecosystem keeps competitors ahead of a the digital transport revolution worldwide. skills. Its feature-filled solution is quick, fast-evolving field. effective and usable by companies of any size. Avangate Betalo AB www.2checkout.com www.betalo.com ArandoDB Alex Hart Stefan Salomonsson www.appspotr.com Cloud Computing Other Claudius Weinberger USA Sweden Big Data/Storage Germany » Avangate is the global e-commerce » Betalo is the better way to send money platform that maximizes firms’ sales abroad. Its high-security, smart and simple » ArangoDB is a multi-model NoSQL of software, SaaS and digital solutions. payment service allows for cheaper and database that uses just one unified query Founded in 2006 the Atlanta and quicker transfers all over the world. Little language. It allows single instance, cluster Amsterdam-based company helps brands wonder the Swedish company has been and mixed service models, and has been embrace industry shifts and reach new used to send over a billion dollars since its employed by major multinationals like customers. foundation. Barclays and Thomson Reuters.

www.REDHERRING.com 9 Top 100 Companies: Europe

BioCatch Business-Insight Calldorado ApS www.biocatch.com www.business-insight.com calldorado.com Eyal Goldwerger Frank Vanden Berghen Claudia Dreier-Poepperl Security Big Data/Storage adTech Israel Belgium Denmark

» Boston-based BioCatch analyzes » Insight offers servers and storage » Put your app in the spotlight with human-to-device interactions to provide solutions scalable to small and medium multiple award winning call-based companies with behavioral biometrics that sized businesses worldwide. Its highly advertising SDK for Android Calldorado, allow them to prevent the next generation flexible plans include Cloud, bring your which allows users to monetize their apps of cybersecurity threats. Its high tech own device (BYOD) support and end-to- via after-call ads linked to a caller ID solution includes over 50 patents and end software management that provide screen. One of Copenhagen’s most active monitors more than 5bn transactions each safe, simple and secure storage for any startups, Calldorado has also initiated a month. industry. $12m growth fund.

BoardMaps ByNoGame Online Calyos boardmaps.comindex.html Games www.calyos-tm.com Vladimir Bernstein www.bynogame.com Olivier de Laet Software Murat Komurcu Clean Tech Cyprus Gaming Belgium Turkey » BoardMaps enables board executives » Calyos is home to the world’s most and committees to make better decisions. » ByNoGame is a Turkey-based web portal advanced loop heat pipe cooling solutions. Its innovative, well-designed and offering the latest products related to the fast- Whether cooling for electronics or power workflow-based solution optimizes focus, moving world of gaming. Founded ten years modules, its fanless solution can be participation, perfection and retention to ago, the company has become a vital source adapted for a huge variety of instruments ensure the most is made of any company’s of games, information, skins and many, and industries - from personal computers talent. many other valuable game-based items. and servers to railways and even power stations.

Brandura International Cablato N/A cablato.com Cedato N/A Adrian Pearmund www.cedato.com Marketing/Advertising/SEO Marketing/Advertising/SEO Ron Dick United Kingdom United Kingdom adTech Israel » Flavia Anghel, the founder of Brandura » Cablato means more personalized, International, Flavia is editor-in-chief intelligent advertising. Powering the » New York’s Cedato is the programmatic of branding journal BrandingMag and world’s most engaging ads, the company video pioneer that powers your every branding.news. The marketing expert is offers data-driven, personal and cross- transaction. Its SaaS-based Our predictive passionate about unearthing undiscovered device advertising that matches a video advertising software makes it and unforeseen talent in the often- company’s content to each and every possible for native video to run on any overlooked branding industry. consumer. No wonder it’s attracted the screen and placement, enhancing value, business of brands like NBC, Honda and yield and viewing experience. Two million Adidas. sites, in 50 countries, agree.

10 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: Europe

CensorNet connected-health.eu Delair-Tech www.censornet.com GmbH www.delair.aero Ed Macnair lifetime.eu Michael de Lagarde Security Dr. Johannes Jacubeit Cloud Computing United Kingdom Other France Germany » Whether ransomware, compliance, » Delair-Tech SAS engages in the shadow IT, authentication, Cloud security » LifeTime is a way for patients to keep all production and distribution of long or making Microsoft’s Office 365 secure, their medical files on their smartphone - range and civilian drone solutions, CensorNet brings enterprise-class security and fully encrypted. Users can share data and image processing techniques for a and flexibility to over 4,000 customers in order to get the best treatment possible: variety of mineral and utilities companies worldwide. Its highly experienced team it’s the best way to stay in rude health - easy worldwide. The Toulouse, France-based brings decades of innovation from one of for users, and easy for doctors. firm, founded in 2011, has quickly become tech’s most important sectors. a global leader in a fast-moving field.

CoScale Chirp.io www.newrelic.com Deposit Solutions GmbH chirp.io Stijn Polfliet www.deposit-solutions.com Moran Lerner Big Data/Storage Tim Sievers Software Belgium Banking/M&A United Kingdom Germany » CoScale offers allows users to accelerate » Chirp.io enables a seamless transfer of and assure their container deployments » Hamburg’s Deposit Solutions is a digital innovation via sound waves using in production. Its monitoring platform provider of one of the world’s best open a device’s loudspeaker and microphone is optimized for large and dynamic banking platforms for deposits connecting only. The digital leader has connected production environments, with lightweight banks and deposits across Europe. Its millions of devices for big brands in over non-intrusive container and application mission is to establish open banking as 90 countries. It’s a giant leap forward in the instrumentation, and streaming analytics the new industry standard for the deposits field of data over sound. to handle big ingests of data. business.

Collaborative Recycling Darktrace Devialet www.corecyclage.com www.darktrace.com www.devialet.com Renaud ATTAL Nicole Eagan Quentin Sannie Clean Tech Security Entertainment & Media France United Kingdom France

» Collaborative Recycling plans are » Darktrace is the world leader in machine » Devialet’s high end speakers and proven to deliver both environmental learning cybersecurity. Created out of the audiophile amplifiers allow users to and social benefits. Co-Recyclage, a Paris- University of Cambridge by some of the experience the greatest audio quality based clean tech firm, optimizes reuse industry’s brightest stars, the British firm for ultra high performance situations. and reduces waste via an innovative, uses AI algorithms that mimic the human Customers and companies alike have professional platform. The French nation immune system. Little wonder some of the been wowed by Devialet’s peerless range is responding: over 60,000 users now biggest firms on earth employ its solution. and uncompromising addiction to audio employ the company’s solution. perfection.

www.REDHERRING.com 11 Top 100 Companies: Europe

Disk Archive Corporation EyeFitU AG hedgehog Lab Ltd. www.eyefitu.com www.hedgehoglab.com www.diskarchive.com Isabelle Ohnemus Sarat Pediredla Alan Hoggarth Internet/Online Mobile Big Data/Storage Switzerland United Kingdom United Kingdom » EyeFitU is the new way to shop online. » Hedgehog Lab is a global technology » London’s Disk Archive Corporation Tired of buying clothes on the Internet, consultancy that has helped some of the provides an easy, secure and affordable only for them not to fit when you get them world’s best businesses design and build technology for archiving and cold data home? Make sure that never happens by software and digital solutions across storage. It’s ALTO - the Alternative to LTO personalizing EyeFitU to your specific leading-edge platforms like smartphones, - a high-density, enterprise-class, offline measurements, and leave long days in tablets, wearables, connected devices, AR, data archive platform that breaks the cycle fitting rooms behind. Join the sizing VT, the Internet of Things and connected of cumbersome robotic tape libraries. revolution. vehicles.

Dreams FraudBuster Hutoma Artificial www.getdreams.com www.fraudbuster.mobi Intelligence SL Henrik Rosvall Jeremy Vinant www.hutoma.ai Banking/M&A Telecommunications Maurizio Cibelli Sweden France Other Spain » Dreams is a goal - or dream - based » FraudBuster is home to the only savings platform, that allows people to antifraud solutions for mobile and fixed » Hu:toma helps companies under their save how people think. It’s easy: download operators, that commit on results. Its customers better. Its conversational AI the Dreams app, create a dream, and raft of innovative security solutions, solution creates chatbots people can speak start saving. Whether it’s something for tailored across platforms, utilizes Big Data to by ingesting unstructured data - in the home or that big holiday you’ve been technology to detect fraudulent activity their language, and in a way that better thinking about for years, make it possible. worldwide. So far it has been deployed in helps them help themselves. Knowledge over 45 countries, detecting 8m fraudulent is power: leverage it, and keep customers SIM cards. coming back over and over.

eDevice www.edevice.com Gamexy Ideol Marc Berrebi www.gamexy.ru www.ideol-offshore.com Medical Devices Pavel Osminin Paul de la Guérivière France Gaming Clean Tech Russia France » Founded in 1999, eDevice provide solutions that securely transmit medical » Gamexy is a highly innovative games » Offshore wind is the future of clean data between their patients and their developer founded in 2011 to create energy. Ideol’s cutting-edge floating systems. Straddling the gateways, services, something new, and cross lines that never foundations save on construction, allow telecom and medical, the Merignac- before were crossed. Its titles immerse turbines to more easily be transported headquartered company is a pioneer in the gamers in deep, emotive experiences. Its into place, and reduces the environmental eHealth connectivity space. popular titles include the rich, PC role- impact of turbines by a huge degree. At player The Displaced, and Mafia Rush, a a time when countries are embarking on mobile arcade game. ambitious wind projects, Ideol is at the sector’s vanguard.

12 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: Europe

Insider IOVOX Kaptio useinsider.com www.iovox.com kaptio.com Hande Çilingir Ryan Gallagher Arnar Laufdal Olafsson Internet/Web Telecommunications Cloud Computing Turkey United Kingdom Iceland

» Insider is the world’s first integrated » IOVOX is the better way to call. The » Kaptio is an ominchannel sales and Growth Management Platform. The company’s seamless, innovation SaaS service platform built for travel on Turkey-based firm helps digital marketers platform allows customers to evaluate Salesforce. The world has changed, grow from end-to-end: from acquisition calls before answering, and observe data and companies must sell faster, launch to activation, retention and revenue when done. Its features include flagging smarter and deliver error-free bookings from a unified platform powered by the calls, setting reminders and taking notes to customers. Kaptio’s single reservation technologies of artificial intelligence and on the people and conversations that really platform brings customers and company machine learning. matter. closer together.

Intent Technologies iProtego LeanXcale www.intent-technologies.eu www.iprotego.com www.leanxcale.com Laurent Chesnais Ludovic Broyer Ricardo Jimenez-Peris Other Internet/Online Big Data/Storage France France Spain

» Intent Technologies democratizes » Don’t let negative search results affect » LeanXcale is a converged SQL database, data and services access and sharing your business with iProtego, the leading combining Ultra-Scalable capabilities and between every person involved property e-reputation management brand. Whether full ACID transactional consistency of management. Its quick-to-install SaaS an individual or a business, you have distributed data. Its innovation is based on solution, set up with no upfront fees, the right to protect your image online. a new approach to transactional processing, manages smart buildings and cities, iProtego’s consumer solution, Osculteo, enabling it to provide transactional data accelerating and enriching companies’ projects and audits digital identity in one, consistency while scaling out to hundreds abilities to offer optimized, efficient easy to use place. of nodes, terabytes of data and millions of services. transactions per second.

Kado Interprefy kado.tech Level Up Media interprefy.com Itay Hasid www.levelupmedia.tv Kim Ludvigsen Consumer Electronics Chris Gale Entertainment & Media Israel Entertainment & Media Switzerland United Kingdom » KADO is the insanely thin charger for » Interprefy provides a premium phone, cameras, tablets and much more. » Level Up Media provides video cloud-based platform for video remote Thinner than a regular pencil it uses only publishers with cutting edge tools and the interpreting of conferences, workshops premium materials, and can fit easily into technology to succeed in today’s complex, and similar events. Interprefy works a passport case or even a tight pocket. All ultra-competitive marketplace. The with the best language service providers our modern devices are pocket-sized: why company’s EvoPlayer, which uses the most and established technology partners must our chargers be bricks? KADO is current protocols, such as QUIC, enhances worldwide. Interprefy your event. your new game-changer. quality while radically reducing clients’ Anytime. Anywhere. overheads.

www.REDHERRING.com 13 Top 100 Companies: Europe

MacPaw Netalizer Obiz Concept www.macpaw.com www.gazpachomobile.com www.obiz.fr Oleksandr Kosovan John Roujinsky Brice Chambard Software Mobile Marketing/Advertising/SEO Ukraine Israel France

» MacPaw makes running your Mac a » Easy to make and always tastes good: » Now you can keep all your leisure and million times easier. Its CleanMyMac 3 Gazpacho is the enterprise mobile solutions sport activities on one card: the Obiz Card software, paws through your Mac’s files to platform with real benefits. It is a host of hosts a whole world of advantages for keep as much space as possible - and give innovative, top-of-the-line ingredients one, low annual payment. Its professional it a much-needed checkup. But that’s not that enable companies to mobilize services are also creating a societal all. MacPaw offers a raft of troubleshooting their organizations instantly, sending movement, as craftsmen, entrepreneurs apps that prolong, and better, the life of productivity through the roof. You’ll barely and merchants change the way they Macs and PCs everywhere. remember your workflow without it. do business. It already has five million beneficiaries, and counting.

Market Logic Software Nice People At Work AG (NPAW) Omniflow, SA marketlogicsoftware.com nicepeopleatwork.com www.omniflow.pt Kay Iversen Ferran Gutiérrez Pedro Ruão Cloud Big Data/Storage Clean Tech Germany Spain Portugal

» Market Logic Software helps companies » Nice People at Work - NPAW - is a » Omniflow is a smart energy platform, transform their marketing strategies business intelligence team serving the powered by wind and solar, that will change with the right information, at the right online media industry. With a decade of the way we power the world. Connected and time. Powered by cognitive computing, work under its belt, the Barcelona-based easy to manage via a smartphone or other the Berlin-based software expert drives firm has made the most of emerging Big device, its autonomous solution is powered insights that accelerate business, and make Data and business intelligence technologies by an omnidirectional wind turbine and solar companies’ marketing directions run to help the next generation of media cells for applications in Internet of Things for smoother, and more clever. players move their business forward. urban or even remote locations.

Mozoo Nomos System AG Peaksel www.mozoo.com www.nomossystemes.com www.peaksel.com Jules Minvielle Bernhard Marko Petkovic Marketing/Advertising/SEO Huessy Mobile United Kingdom Software Serbia Switzerland » Mozoo uses artificial intelligence » Peaksel is a digital media company to optimize advertising revenues for » Nomos System caters to the flood that develops, publishes and promotes mobile publishers. Its simple-to-integrate of Internet-connected devices that is mobile apps and games. Some of its best platform, which gives instant access to all changing our world. Its interoperable known titles include My Best Friend ad networks and exchanges on the market, software engine controls connected devices Anna, Pregnant Emma, Red Hands and radically increases clients’ ability to predict across multiple platforms and standards: its much-loved coloring games. Peaks has the future. Little wonder publishers can no wonder the Swiss startup has become also designed a host of quiz games - and expect a 20-300% revenue increase. an industry darling for its innovative, easy- its Virtual Museum series brings classic to-use solution. art to life for modern enthusiasts, and newcomers.

14 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: Europe

QualySense SearchInk Simpleweb www.qualysense.com www.omnius.com simpleweb.co.uk Francesco Dell’Endice Sofie Quidenus Mark Panay Clean Tech Cloud Computing Software Switzerland Germany United Kingdom

» Now you can inspect individual beans » Omni:us delivers structured data from » Simpleweb solves difficult problems by and grains with professional quality and highly variable documents, to streamline combining strategy, engineering and art. Its ease with QualySense, a manufacturer processes and facilitate end-to-end holistic approach to clients’ needs includes of high-end machines that can sort and document interchanges. Whether high bespoke content, cutting edge development inspect produce on-the-spot. The QSorter volume, high variability or high speed - and Simpleweb Studio Block, a software Explorer can analyze and sort 50 kernels or all three - its solution is tailored for the studio focusing on the productization of per second, while technology and services ultimate ROI. Firms are able to process decentralized applications, using the latest offerings ensure QualySense caters to 80% faster and save 75%. Blockchain technology. everyone requiring their produce to be the best. Smappee www.smappee.com Salestools.io SeedLegals Stefan Grosjean www.voogy.com www.seedlegals.com Clean Tech Jesper Qvist Anthony Rose Belgium Cloud Software United Kingdom Denmark » Smappee is the smart energy monitor you can control, easily, all from your own » Salestools identifies and finds your » What could be more important for smartphone. Like Shazam identifies songs, next customer. Its SaaS platform, which today’s startups than finding funding, fast Smappee finds appliances - and allows you integrates the latest in Big Data and and easily? SeedLegals knows: that’s why its to streamline your energy use and build intelligence tools, can search millions of platform allows the next big entrepreneurs a bank of data showing you where weak prospects, and arrange via job department, a place to build teams, ready investment, points are located. It’s easy, simple and fast. seniority and technology use. Never before be compliant and close rounds in a richly- has it been so easy to connect and make designed, software-based environment. business-critical deals. SnapShot www.snapshot.travel Scoota Sherpa Stefan Tweraser www.scoota.com www.sher.pa Cloud Computing James Booth Xabi Uribe-Etxebarria Germany adTech Software Spain United Kingdom » SnapShot is the go-to marketplace for hotels and great technology. range of hotel » Scoota is brand safety that works. Its » Few people know artificial intelligence data solutions, from smart applications to highly-tuned platform combines anomaly better than Xabi Uribe-Etxebarria. a customizable enterprise data warehouse detection, viewability and domain The longtime Spanish entrepreneur, solution, makes the platform perfect for verification, ensuring its clients deliver chief of AI personal assistant Sherpa, properties of all sizes. SnapShot solves the brand advertising to those who will has built a bleeding edge technology data problem in hospitality - and does it in really connect. Its Sentinel technology, an firm that provides an API to access style. intelligent campaign delivery system, keeps mankind’s predictive artificial intelligence campaigns rich and relevant - whatever the capabilities. industry or size.

www.REDHERRING.com 15 Top 100 Companies: Europe

Social Party Inc. Stormshield Talentsoft www.socialparty.biz www.stormshield.com www.talentsoft.com Olli Kallioinen Pierre Calais Jean Stéphane Arcis Internet/Online Security Cloud Computing Finland France France

» Social Party is the leading tech-based » Stormshield is your defense against » Talentsoft is designing a fulfilling work loyalty program. Its DigiAwards by Party the new weaponry in the cybersecurity experience for everybody. Talentsoft Coins solution, which can be integrated war. Its triple-fronted technology secures Recruiting helps recruiters and managers in just one day, provides the best digital networks, endpoints and sensitive data, to free up their time to build meaningful content like music, movies and games - all via a simple to use, Cloud-based relationships with candidates, by all while increasing conversion rates and platform that allows companies of all sizes enhancing their productivity and decision- allowing customers to redeem exciting to transition seamlessly to the Cloud, and making abilities. Its highly flexible solution awards and items. stay safe doing so. allows clients to engage candidates from sourcing to onboarding and all along their personalized employee journey. Splitit Stryking Entertainment www.splitit.com www.stryking.com Tappx Gil Don Dirk Weyel www.tappx.com Other Gaming Daniel Reina Israel Germany Mobile Spain » SplitIt is a benchmark-bending startup » Striking Entertainment is the next that is changing the way online retailers do generation fantasy sports platform. The » Tappx allows companies and individuals business. Its patented technology, which Berlin-based startup drives engagement to boost their app success with ease. Its enables seamless payments for companies and monetization by combining the simple platform, which has served over of all sizes, includes innovations such real and virtual world to create genuine a hundred billion monthly ads to date, as eWallet capability and the ability interaction opportunities for fans, stars allows app makers to better monetize and to optimize credit lines as security for and brands. Its Football-Stars platform make visible apps, driving downloads, installment plans. brings the beautiful game to the web and sales and - ultimately - big success. Just ask mobile, for a new breed of footy-mad Cut The Rope, Clean Master - or hundreds fantasy players. of others who’ve used the service. SpotMe www.spotme.com SwipeStox GmbH Pierre Metrailler TasteHit www.nagatrader.com Mobile www.tastehit.com Wladimir Huber Switzerland Alexei Kounine Mobile Internet/Online » SpotMe’s innovative solutions spark new Germany France ideas. Its enterprise engagement platform » allows participants to foster collaboration, SwipeStox’ NAGA Trader is a social » TasteHit uses cutting edge, innovative drive strategic alignment, and supports network for traders. Its easy and simple data science technology to individualize organizations to solve meaningful business platform lets you see exactly what’s going on the online marketing experience. Its challenges through events and perpetual in the markets at any time, conceptualizes, dashboard, ready in minutes, gives retailers engagement workspaces. develops, and launches technology the chance to make real impacts on their ventures for financial industries. It’s of business by reaching the right customer, at no surprise the Hamburg-based firm has all times. Revenues will bounce up to 20%, become one of the most talked about and all the tools you need are under one brands in the fintech world. hood.

16 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: Europe

The CoSMo Company TIPA-Corp Ubi Transports cosmotech.com tipa-corp.com www.ubitransport.com Hugues de Bantel Daphna Nissenbaum Jean-Paul Medioni Other Clean Tech Software France Israel France

» Cosmo Tech Applications allow business » Tipa Corp’s compostable bio-plastic » Ubitransports offers smartphone and leaders to make optimal decisions in packaging looks like plastic, and feels Cloud-based CAD/AVL and fare collection complex environments. Cosmo Tech like it too. But there’s one big difference: systems for bus networks, with customized Applications goes where big data, data its end of life is fully compostable. That solutions for school transportation, small science, and artificial intelligence cannot: means packaging that is just as flexible, urban, rural and intercity transit, and it delivers decision makers and C-suites transparent, durable and impermeable as demand-response transport. Its three the augmented intelligence they need to plastic - but without the huge price to our products help school travel, small urban make the best choice and chart the best planet. transport and substitute and unplanned strategy every time. bus solutions.

Tradelab The Floow Limited www.tradelab.com Ubimax www.thefloow.com Yohann Dupasquier www.ubimax.com Aldo Monteforte Marketing/Advertising/SEO Hendrik Witt Software France Software United Kingdom Germany » Tradelab is a specialist in multi-device » The Floow is helping to accelerate change campaigns through RTB. Founded in 2010, » UbiMax is the leader in workplace in the world of mobility. By combining the French company has become a leader wearable computing and augmented reality data science and social science ts award- in programmatic marketing, and has won solutions. With more than 200 companies winning solutions directly address the a whole raft of top-level customers with its choosing its simple-to-use product, issues faced by roadgoers, employing the easy-to-use, scalable and flexible platform. UbiMax can help employees achieve 35% latest and best in smart technology to Make sure you’re reaching everyone, on all or more in productivity improvements. make sure that drive home is as safe, and platforms, with TradeLab. Why not wear IT at work? UbiMax makes efficient, as possible. it easy!

Thermosome Transmatico ubirimi.com www.thermosome.com www.transmatico.com www.ubirimi.com Pascal Schweizer Christian Scherbel Flavius Nopcea Life Sciences/Biotech Software Internet/Online Germany Germany Romania » » Thermosome is the new, innovative Transmatico makes the digital » targeting paradigm in fighting cancer, and transformation of publishing intuitive, Ubirimi knows how vital productivity beyond. Its drugs leverage a proprietary predictable and cost efficient. Say goodbye is to any team. That’s why it has devised drug delivery technology, which exploits to your print-feel product, and go digital a host of products that will help you and a new mechanism of action called first. Make sure your media is seen by your colleagues get ahead more quickly. intravascular drug release. That means everyone, across all platforms, channels, With ERP solutions that fits the needs of improved therapeutics, of value to patients, and in any time and place. Transmatico is any team, Ubirimi offers privacy, security, that streamlines the delivery process. the future of the media industry. ease of use and a huge level of flexibility - whether collating documents or fixing bugs.

www.REDHERRING.com 17 Top 100 Companies: Europe

Vendemore Visedo Oy Volterion GmbH www.vendemore.com www.danfoss.com www.volterion.com David Ratcliff Kimmo Rauma Thomas Gebauer Marketing/Advertising/SEO Clean Tech Clean Tech Sweden Finland Germany

» Sweden’s Vendemore provides account- » Visedo builds the most efficient hybrid » Volterion produces its innovative Redox- based marketing by targeting online and electric drivetrains, able to power the Flow battery engineering in a compact content adverts to clients’ named accounts. world’s best marine vessels, and heavy duty design for the conservation of renewable The result is increased B2B demand machines and vehicles. Its experienced, energy. Its stacks are made to the highest generation, pipeline acceleration and highly skilled team can deliver bespoke standards, and can be used independent cross-selling. Their customers are complex solutions to propel the next generation of electrolytes. They can be used for selling B2B companies in these main of environmentally friendly land and sea demonstration projects from 10 - 500kWh, segments: B2B software, outsourcing, vehicles. and are overseen by the company’s well- industrial solutions and consulting. priced Stackcontroller system.

VisIC Technologies VerseOne www.visic-tech.com Warwick Analytics www.verseone.com Tamara Baksht warwickanalytics.com Alan Neilson Clean Tech Dan Somers Software Israel Cloud Computing United Kingdom United Kingdom » VisIC Technologies develops and markets » Welcome to the digital transformation, the world’s leading GaN-based power » Warwick Analytics produces PrediCX, with VerseOne. Its powerful product device components for energy conversion automated text analytics for voice of suite and wealth of web expertise helps systems. Its transistors and modules are customer (VoC) data, chatbots, service, organizations equip themselves for the coveted everywhere, and it is leaping ahead complaint handling, call center automation tech-based future - here and now. Whether of competition in a technology expected and early warning of issues. It’s quick and housing, healthcare, local government or to replace most silicon-based products easy to use and deploy, and provides a high commercial, the British company has what currently used in power conversion. impact solution for text analysis. it takes to transform and adapt.

Visionteractive WebVenture Vionlabs AB www.visionteractive.com Development www.vionlabs.com Onur Candan www.webventure.ro Arash Pendari Entertainment & Media CiprianvSalceanu Entertainment & Media Turkey Software Sweden Romania » Visioninteractive is a marketing » Few content owners and creators technology company that produces » Software, Blockchain, web and mobile understand their customers fully - or online-offline integrated smart devices development is right at your fingertips how to best enhance user engagement and softwares, researching and developing with Webventure, an experienced team with their digital products. Vionlabs is to solve brands’ marketing problems. Its specializing in Blockchain applications here to help. Its three-pronged suite of product stable includes Mediainteractive, developments - like ICOs, coins and products helps companies create personal a programmatic tool, and MuHakKak, a hyperledger fabric - CMS platforms, experiences, optimize content strategies creative content provider aimed at tech- e-commerce, consultancy and IT and return a greater ROI on content in the savvy providers. maintenance and support. digital age.

18 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Business Transactions

Applications

Hybrid IT Infrastructure

Switch I/O Database Error App Timeout Server Error Error Top 100 Companies: Europe

WeCashUp Wittra Sweden AB ZapGo Ltd www.wecashup.com www.wittra.se www.zapgo.com Cedric ATANGANA Håkan Dackefjord Stephen Voller Other Hardware Consumer Electronics France Sweden United Kingdom

» WeCashUp enables organizations to go » Wittra is providing solutions for the » ZapGo is building the batteries which global and manage cross-network, cross- Internet of Moving Things. The Sweden- will power the next generation of devices. border, cross-currency and interoperable based company is addressing problems Its ultra fast charging carbon-ion cells can payments seamlessly. It is a cutting-edge created by GPS, which cannot easily be replace lithium-ion batteries, to charge payment platform that leverages the security used indoors, in a tunnel or anywhere it devices applications in under five minutes. potential of the Blockchain to create a loses signal. Indoor positioning can be Whether on the go, completely cordless global interoperability loop that facilitates solved with Wittra’s long-range technology, or in state-of-the-art facilities, ZapGo is and accelerates money flow between which gives you everything you need in a expertly poised to change the charging the emerging payment systems and the single device. world. traditional banking system globally.

xbird ZEETTA NETWORKS Wiredelta www.xbird.io zeetta.com wiredelta.com Sebastian Sujka Vassilis Seferidis Mark Dencker Life Sciences/Biotech Telecommunications Software Germany United Kingdom Denmark » Xbird’s mission is a lofty one: to save one » Zeetta Networks transforms your » WireDelta has everything you need million lives by 2020. How will it achieve network into an interactive programmable to turn your operation into an online that goal? By harnessing the power of data platform for better control, improved powerhouse. Its deeply experienced team and pattern recognition from smartphones, efficiency, enhanced performance and of digital experts has all the solutions to wearables and medical devices, to alert better cost controls of your existing cater to mobile development, e-commerce, medical professionals and users to manage infrastructure. Its vision is to allow design and everything else a business health, and prevent problems before they enterprises, cities and network operators needs to thrive in the new, tech-driven grow. to scale up the capabilities of their network. marketplace.

20 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: Europe

zeotap Zervant Oy www.zeotap.com www.zervant.com Daniel Heer Mattias Hansson Big Data/Storage Banking/M&A Germany Finland

» Zeotap enables clients to achieve better » Zervant is free invoicing software for results with the most valuable data that small businesses. Zervant makes running fuels growth. It has become a leader in a small business as simple as possible with sourcing, refining and distributing high its slick, easy to use templates and software quality data from large enterprises - and that will make invoicing a headache-free has won top-level clients with its highly activity - and keep your accountant happy compliant, secure and efficient solutions at the same time. across the board.

Zingaya Inc. Zero Keyboard www.zingaya.com zerokeyboard.com Alexey Aylarov Jaan Apajalahti Cloud Computing Mobile Russia Finland » Let your website visitors call you without » Zero Keyboard is the ultimate Salesforce a phone, with Zingaya - software that app. It offers the ability to update the enables voice calls through any computer, Salesforce CRM on the go with swipes, right through a webpage. No download business card scanner and speech to text or phone is ever required, making abilities. You can use Zero Keyboard interactions - and conversions - all that anywhere, at any time, without ever much easier. Turn your website visitors having to type. No wonder organizations into customers with Zingaya. are flocking to streamline their sales operations.

www.REDHERRING.com 21 Feature Story

Averon CEO Wendell Brown – Why UX is Now the Crucial Element of Cybersecurity

22 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Feature Story

Last month, Averon announced the close Are there any other ways cybersecurity We add security, but we of an $8.3 million funding round led by companies are not delivering the user do it in a way that makes Avalon Ventures, to continue developing what he or she needs? its Direct Autonomous Authentication it easier for the end user. (DAA) platform, a frictionless mobile An important message for companies identity verification technology. to understand is when they beef up security, a lot of companies just make it In terms of challenges, working closely What is Averon’s unique solution to harder and harder for the user. Requiring alongside mobile carriers made the first improving cybersecurity, and why is multiple steps tests the user’s patience, and year difficult. It took a while to get in authentication such an important topic sometimes when it gets too difficult users place and approved. Also our HQ is in right now? just turn off security altogether. San Francisco, so recruiting is competitive and challenging, but we’ve got an exciting I think everyone knows cybersecurity is a So there’s a point of diminishing returns story and we’ve actually been fortunate challenge today; you read about breaches if you improve security by making it more in terms of recruiting a team. We’re live all the time. Averon’s solution is important complicated. That’s one of the things that in the US market today and also growing because it provides a much easier way really sets us apart: We add security, but internationally. We have partnerships with for mobile users to authenticate, to really we do it in a way that makes it easier for telcos internationally, and some activity in communicate and prove to the service who the user. That is important, because if it Europe coming up. they are, and it does so in a much easier way. gets too complicated users either turn security off—which, of course, defeats the Are there any other industries that you In fact, the user does nothing. Unlike whole point—or if there’s a poor security see on the horizon that will require existing solutions like SMS 2FA (two- implementation, sometimes customers Averon down the line? factor authentication), Averon allows you will go somewhere else. If it’s too much of a to authenticate with no effort. It leverages hassle, they vote with their feet: They either Today we’re focused on FinTech, IoT, and the inherent power in the mobile network, turn it off or go somewhere else. automotive. Those are three areas that and that’s really quite unique. Making it are important. Any other areas that are easy is important, because if it’s not easy So you think there’s a UX deficit on that important are wherever there’s any sort of for users, they’ll usually turn off security. side of things – where companies are sensitive information, like file access and keen to make all other operations as sharing documents. Our initial focus is on Is there anyone working in your space at seamless and user-friendly as possible, those three areas, but there are others we’ll all: any direct competition whatsoever? but when it comes to security they’re not be growing into as well. really thinking about the user? There are a lot of companies that provide What are the best pieces of advice, or second factors, but there’s no one else I think the priority is correct in that they things you’ve done wrong, that you’ve providing cybersecurity the way we are, need to make security stronger, but it’s taken into this role? where it’s easy, and it’s leveraging the power important to pay attention to the UX. of the mobile carriers. We’re embedded We’ve all experienced login problems or From my prior companies I’ve always inside the carriers, so it’s a unique approach, forgotten a password—it’s all becoming learned from experience. I think some of totally different from SMS. increasingly complicated in general—so the basic lessons as an entrepreneur are to we are unique in that we can add security address a large market: People get excited With SMS 2FA, of course, the user has to and extra strength but without impacting when you solve big problems–not only do something, has to type in the characters. the UX in general. customers but also investors and such–so It’s not just the time and inconvenience— it’s important to address big problems and SMS is not as secure as people may imagine. What are the biggest challenges Averon big markets. With Averon, we’re doing both There have been multiple breaches where faces today? of those: It’s a big market, it’s a big problem, SMS codes were lifted off an SMS stream. and it’s important to the world. There’s a group in the US government called We’re live on all the US carriers, are NIST (National Institute for Standards and expanding internationally, and we recently From more of a personal standpoint, it’s Technology) that came out about six months closed an $8.3 million Series A with Avalon also a problem that affects people. This is ago with a recommendation to the banking Ventures. They’re a great, large fund, and a problem that affects my family, it affects community and other sectors to no longer we’re very happy to be working with them. everyone, it’s impactful, it’s important, and use SMS 2FA because of these breaches. Soon The funding is being used to grow our it affects the world. The important thing it seems regulations will mandate moving technical team and sales department. is to go after large problems and create away from SMS-based 2FA. solutions that make a positive impact.

www.REDHERRING.com 23 Feature Story

From Laser Fighters to Wildfires: How Drone Startup Edgybees Found a Life-Saving Niche hen Menashe Haskin mission to improve the world in some way.” including Motorola Solutions Venture launched augmented Capital, Verizon Ventures, NVX, Aspect reality drone firmA month later firefighters deployed Ventures, 8VC and OurCrowd. Edgybees in 2017, with Edgybees to tackle the most destructive two others, he aimed wildfires in Californian history. “When we They see a founding trio with intimate to turn the sky into a technicolor racetrack. suggested (First Response) to firemen they knowledge of the market. Haskin led Israel’s WDronePrix AR gave users the chance to were ecstatic about it, because so many Amazon Air Prime development, and duck and dive through obstacle courses, times in bush fires you don’t have roads any holds over 35 patents in video, aerospace collect prizes and compete worldwide. more,” says Haskin. and vision processing. CEO Scott Kaplan is a veteran tech leader, while director of A few months later, the company took an First Response was the company’s go-to platform Nitay Megides is a robotics and altogether different turn. When it became product. It still lists three gaming titles drone expert who served in the Israeli clear Edgybees’ technology could have a big among its applications – automotive, media Defense Forces 8200 Unit, which has use in emergency relief the team developed and commercial solutions are there too – birthed a number of high-tech ventures. First Response, a drone-flying app that but emergency response is number one. leveraged the firm’s gaming skill to help Surveillance is expected to account for a first responders better orient themselves in “I didn’t expect to be in such a risky large amount of drone industry growth. tough conditions. business,” says Haskin, rawboned and Police forces already use drones, to varying smiling widely. “I thought we’d perhaps go degrees of approval by rights groups. But The impact was almost instant. In to media production, but then this market the technology’s usefulness is undeniable. September 2017 Hurricane Irma tore came in huge: let’s not ignore that there’s Police responding to October’s tragic across the Caribbean and Florida, killing lots of money to be made here.” Las Vegas shooting, during which 58 at least 134 people and causing $65 billion people died, took 15 minutes to locate the damage. He is right: Goldman Sachs predicts that murderer, “because they had to do it on the the market opportunity from drones will radio,” says Haskin. “Now I have them on Drones were already in use but emergency be worth $100bn by 2020. Commercial or the net, it would be so much faster.” services struggled to find survivors amid civil drones will comprise $13bn of it. the carnage. First Response, which gathers information from real-world sensors and Climate change is driving a huge increase in other devices like cameras and GPS, was a the number of natural disasters worldwide. Edgybees’ augmented game-changer. Users could overlay street The global incident and emergency names and other data, and pinpoint items management market size is set to grow reality drone... like cars, homes and people. from $93.44bn this year to $122.92bn by is something that is really 2023 according to ReportLinker, an analyst. Edgybees’ business model transformed helping people overnight. Haskin felt an overwhelming That has piqued investors. Edgybees, protect their life, sense of pride. “Making money and which is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, technology is nice,” he tells Red Herring, with a major office north of Tel Aviv, can protect their health, while demonstrating the product at a Tel work in all those spaces. This February it Aviv beach. “But everybody wants their won a $5.5m funding round from backers protect their property.

24 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Feature Story

Cops in Orlando rarely serve a warrant without a drone present, he adds. Each new use is another revenue stream for Edgybees. The company is currently fine- tuning its product for late summer, when the Atlantic hurricane season rolls around each year. Weather is becoming more unstable. The race, for Haskin and co, is on: “There’s no time to think…because in two to three months, it’s showtime.”

With its American use consolidated, Edgybees can soon look abroad. Australia, Europe and Asia have all been earmarked for imminent projects. It is a shame to be of use amid tragedy, Haskin admits. But ultimately Edgybees’ newfound redemptive mission is “really amazing,” he says. “It’s a sense of accomplishment that you rarely find. This is something that is really helping people protect their life, protect their health, protect their property.

“That is value you cannot find,” he adds. “It’s immaterial.”

Top: EdgyBees technology syncs markers with command center in real time to locate distress signal origin. Middle: Flood area before Edgybees techology - difficult to see streets. After: Same flood area as above, using Edgybees augmented reality.

www.REDHERRING.com 25 Top 100 Companies: AsiaEurope

Asia: A-Z

99X Technology KLAY Schools

AdAsia Holdings LeapMind, Inc.

Agentec Co. LOCAD Pte

AlphaTUB Looxid Labs

ANTS Online Advertising LPixel Inc.

Solution Pte. MediaMint Pvt.

Appcoach Mesh Korea

Borderless Access Panels Pvt MSewa Software Solution Pvt.

BYROBOT Co., Orb Networks, Inc.

CloudCodes Path Solutions

CompanyHUB IT Solutions Pvt Ralum Indonesia, PT

Creative Survey Inc. Ruby Groupe Inc.

CreditMantri Finserv Private Sahaj Software Solutions Pvt

Limited Cinnamon Spicy

CTM360 SpiderG (Gladiris Technologies Pvt

Cyara Star Festival Inc.

DataAegis Software Private Swingvy

GCI Network Pvt Trillium Incorporated

GHL Systems Berhad Tudip Technologies

Guangzhou Duoyi Network, Co. Vinomofo

Ingenious e Brain Solutions Pvt WineSOFT Inc.

IQLECT YAMAP Inc.

IROYA K.K. ZhiZhangYi Technology

26 RED HERRING | | SPECIAL SPECIAL EDITION EDITION Top 100 Companies: Asia

99X Technology AlphaTUB Borderless Access Panels Mano Sekaram Navneet Kalia Pvt Ltd Sri Lanka India RUCHIKA GUPTA India » 99X Technology is a global software » AlphaTUB is the world’s most company with offices in Europe. It is innovative way to learn alphabets. Its » Borderless Access is a digital MR constantly on the search for winning ideas, uniquely designed TUB Board is a solutions provider. It provides access to on which companies can build unique and traditional alphabet pegboard, that has experiences and life moments of engaged market-winning products. Its 200-plus been reinvented, and packed with limitless consumers, driven by technology and employees have a deep understanding of surprises for an engaging and immersive community analytics, to its global clientele the digital product world. Little wonder it language learning experience. It is backed of MR firms, ad agencies, consultancy has won over 20 awards to date. by a mobile solution and analytics to check companies, and end enterprises who need progress and develop feedback for young responsive, high quality, valuable insights learners. of hard-to-reach audiences all round the world. AdAsia Holdings Kosuke Sogo BYROBOT Co.,Ltd. ANTS Online Advertising James Hong Singapore Solution Pte. Ltd. South Korea DINH LE DAT » AdAsia Holdings provides end-to-end Singapore solutions in AI and marketing, enabling » BYROBOT is a leading specialist in modern marketers, advertisers, and the rapidly-developing, and fast-moving, publishers to increase returns, all through » ANTS in Southeast Asia’s leading flying robot field. The company’s goal is to a single, intelligent platform. With AdAsia’s technology-driven integrated bring robots and artificial intelligence out digital platform, users can onitor and programmatic advertising platform. Its of laboratories and into people’s everyday manage multiple customer touch-points many solutions provide a unique, SaaS- lives. Their uses are manifold - and through transparent, real-time reportin. based platform that combines demand side represent the company’s passion about the platform with supply side platform, which advancement of robotics worldwide. includes data management technology and extraordinary insight engine. Advertisers and publishers alike have been thrilled CloudCodes Agentec with the results. Debasish Pramanik Masato Maehashi India Japan

Appcoach » CloudCodes is seamless governance » Established in 2004, Agentec offers Kent Wang for for SaaS applications. Its multi-edged multiple services, including software approach to Cloud-based security is and system development, applications China a global leader, and offers six separate development, system consulting, system solutions to cater for any business including operations support, and outsourcing » Appcoach accelerates your mobile access control, single sign on, Cloud DLP, related to system development and performance. Its high performance identity management, MDM and shadow operations. optimization support, including a premier IT. CloudCodes is the future, and it’s here. partnership with Google, make sure your campaigns are fully optimized. The company’s deep knowledge of local markets ensure best Asian performance, while Appcoach pushes monetization by accelerating user acquisition and mobile revenues.

www.REDHERRING.com 27 Top 100 Companies: Asia

CompanyHUB IT Solutions CTM360 GCI Network Pvt Ltd Pvt Ltd Mirza Asrar Baig Firoz Khan Abhishek Agrawal Bahrain India India » CTM360 is a subscription service offering » GCI Network is the leader in prepaid » CompanyHub’s fully customizable 24/7, 365 cyber threat management to product distribution in India. Representing CRM solution has the responses to your detect and respond to threats originating over 250 brands and connecting them business issues. Whether automotive, in cyberspace. A growth-stage startup to over 100,000 points of sale proves to manufacturing, education, travel or even headquartered in Bahrain, CTM360 be a win-win relationship for all of our real estate, you can get a 360-degree view currently serves more than 25 of the Top partners, and builds innovative solutions on leads and full sales visibility - allowing 50 GCC banks, and entities in oil and gas, for consumers, channels and corporates. you to focus on what matters most: the healthcare, sovereign wealth funds and No wonder 250 brands have flocked to bottom line. aviation across six countries. GCI Networks.

Creative Survey Inc. Cyara GHL Systems Berhad Ryo Taguchi Alok Kulkarni Danny Leong Japan Australia Malaysia

» Creative Survey is an end-to-end, » Cyara is accelerating CX development » GHL is a leading payment service scalable solution to suit all your survey and increasing quality across digital and provider and one of the top merchant needs. Easy to use and beautifully voice channels. Its Velocity solution rapidly acquirers in the ASEAN region. It designed, this Japanese firm pushes innovates your CX while assuring quality, provides world-class payment services the boundaries of survey creation with while Cruncher tests systems at scale. To and solutions that encompass physical, responsive, customizable, real time results complete the company’s holistic offering, Internet, and mobile payments on a sale, and tool relations at a price that’s good for Cyara’s Pulse monitors CX and identifies rental, or transactional basis. any sized company. issues and troubleshoots problems in real- time. Guangzhou Duoyi CreditMantri Finserv Network, Co., Ltd. Private Limited DataAegis Software Yilu Tang Private Ltd Ranjit Punja China India Prem Kumar India » Guangzhou Duoyi Network, Co., Ltd. is » CreditMantri is much more than a free a 25th-ranked Chinese Internet company credit score. Its tech-based system can » DataAegis Software Pvt. Ltd has over providing some of the country’s most provide better loan rates, the clearing of a century of experience in software popular iOS gaming titles. Not only past dues and a special score builder to application development for the banking, that, the firm makes PC games, email ensure you get the plan that’s right for retail and Internet industries. Its services and instant messaging software. you. Get back on track with an optimized many specializations include software Its commitment to research runs deep: of action plan to improve your credit score. development products, application Duoyi’s 1,800 employees, 80% are games Maximize your credit potential today. integration, project delivery and related developers. IT systems. It can unsurprisingly support a host of industries.

28 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: Asia

Ingenious e Brain KLAY Schools Looxid Labs Solutions Pvt Ltd Priya Krishnan Yongwook Chae Mohit Khuntia India South Korea India » KLAY is the startup shaking up » Looxid Labs helps to build a better » Ingenious believes knowledge and India’s education sector. Its personalized understanding of unspoken emotion using applied innovation with the right skill set approach to care, which follows a multiple human physiological signals. Sounds is the key to deliver the perfect solutions. intelligence approach, allows children to impressive? It is: Looxid Labs’ principle Ingenious e-Brain is a global professional explore the learning pathways that best solution, LooxidVR, seamlessly integrates service provider that offers customized suits them. It’s high quality, it’s safe and it’s eye tracking and brainwave sensors to help research and analytics solutions to Fortune supporting a new generation of kids to get us treat mental disorders without the use 500 companies and law firms. It provides the most from their school years. of expensive, and sometimes dangerous, solutions in intellectual property research, drugs. market research and business analytics by utilizing a unique blend of domain capability, scientific knowledge and client LeapMind, Inc. orientation. Soichi Matsuda LPixel Inc. Japan Yuki Shimahara Japan IQLECT » LeapMind is bringing deep learning technology to every corner of the world, » LPixel Inc., spun out from a life science Sachin Sinha creating a richer and more creative laboratory at the University of Tokyo on India society. The Japanese company provides a March 2014, is one of the world’s leading framework to make deep learning compact companies offering tech-led solutions » IQLECT allows firms to use predictive and simple. Using its unique libraries to life science imaging analysis. With a and real time data analytics tools, to best LeapMind compresses large and complex focus on image analysis and processing monitor and predict user and machine models and runs them even on low- for life science applications, LPixel strives behavior. Its high powered solution, which powered devices. to provide innovation and excitement by can process millions of events per second, connecting our everyday lives to the world takes under an hour to install, and can save of research. up to 70% of a business’ costs. LOCAD Pte Ltd. Rishabh Mehta MediaMint Pvt. Ltd. Singapore IROYA K.K. Aditya Vuchi Keita Ohno » LOCAD loves to build innovative India Japan products and Internet of Things solutions for location-based advertising and OOH » MediaMint offers the professional » IROYA K.K. is an e-commerce site that media industry. Its products and analytics services your business needs to thrive. Its enables users to choose apparel by color. Its help business owners and agencies get team has the people, insight, experience and comprehensive online solution is suited for meaningful insights like no other. Its tools to help you succeed. Its multifaceted selling everything from pants and shoes, to leading edge technology solutions provide approach to the digital world offers a host accessories, cosmetics and even furniture. a new dimension to the mobile advertising of innovations including ad operations, The Japanese firm even offers omnichannel industry. platform support, creative services and and data consulting services for those technical development. wanting to propel their e-commerce sites.

www.REDHERRING.com 29 Top 100 Companies: Asia

Mesh Korea Path Solutions Sahaj Software Solutions JB Rhyu Mohammed Kateeb Pvt Ltd South Korea Kuwait Akash Agrawal India » Mesh Korea is an IT-based logistics » Path Solutions is the leader in providing startup, which has established its country’s technology solutions to the Islamic finance » Sahaj Software is inspiring brilliance in first last-mile logistics network. It has industry. Its Sharia-compliant, top of the the digital age. Its focus on building simple become the primary provider of integrated line solutions are employed by over 130 solutions is changing the way organizations logistics services, and its brand, VROONG, Islamic financial institutions, in three leverage technology. Sahaj’s customers can currently runs four services each catering different languages across 39 countries. Its make appropriate technology and process to new and fast-moving industries such as wide range of tech-based services has won choices, with leading edge technology and food delivery, logistics management, fresh awards worldwide. a team that’s well versed in solving today’s food and even an industry magazine. biggest problems.

Ralum Indonesia, PT MSewa Software Solution Raimar Geffken Spicy Cinnamon Pvt. Ltd. Indonesia Miku Hirano Pankaj Kumar Japan India » Ralum Lighting builds human centric lighting solutions for applications at » The company was launched in 2012, and » MSS Payments is leading the global a healthy home, workplace or even is behind the photo sharing app Seconds. movement to rapidly shift the way recreational spaces. Its integrated concept Spicy Cinnamon, or Cinnamon for short, consumers do banking and payments to can be swiftly developed and implemented, raised 150 million yen in 2014 and the app a highly secure portable mobile platform. while its research-heavy model allows for has hundreds of thousands of downloads Its solutions, including mobile payments, laboratory solutions and even executive across Asia. commercial and branchless banking are furniture to make your work the best at the forefront of making transactions possible. simpler and secure with robust technical SpiderG (Gladiris support. Technologies Pvt Ltd) Ruby Groupe Inc. Ashwani Kumar Singh Rathore India Katsu Kuwano Orb Networks, Inc. Japan Masaaki Nakatsu » Say goodbye to multitasking with SpiderG, a professional chat plus USA » Ruby Groupe is a unique one-stop productivity app for individuals and teams outsourcer of e-commerce operations for to manage your personal and professional » Orb, Inc was founded in February 2014 luxury brands. Ruby Groupe provides its life. Track expenses, record receipts and to conduct research and development into clients with full service of e-commerce manage tasks seamless off of your to-do list the next generation of distributed ledger operations from site development hosting, with a holistic service that even includes technology, establishing new markets online marketing, photo shooting/ invoicing and payroll solutions. and securing its first major enterprise copy writing, billing, logistics,customer customer. Since then the Japanese, Tokyo- support, CRM to consultation. based firm has won significant funding, and has expanded its expert team to much praise from customers and industry insiders.

30 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: Asia

Star Festival Inc. Tudip Technologies YAMAP Inc. Yusuke Kishida Dipti Agrawal Yoshihiko Haruyama Japan India Japan

» STAR FESTIVAL is a Tokyo-based packed » Tudip Technologies is an ever expanding » YAMAP makes outdoors activities safe, lunch solution that caters to any taste. suite of service offerings, that will convenient and sharable. Its simple, and It includes lunch and catering delivery transform your business into a digital era beautifully designed, software turns evert arrangements called GOCHIKURU and powerhouse. Its many solutions include iPhone into a special GPS for activities like SHASHOKURU, that make available a web applications, mobile applications, hiking or skiing - and has a variety of maps wide selection of lunch boxes and catering dev ops, Cloud, testing automation and downloadable or printable to ensure you services - even from famous and renowned translation services. No surprise, then, never get lost on the go. Finally, report your restaurants. that its customers value Tudip’s integrity, trip to friends - and connect with other innovation and serenity. outdoors lovers!

Swingvy Vinomofo ZhiZhangYi Technology Jin Choeh Justin Dry Wei Wang Singapore Australia China » Swingy grows businesses by empowering » Vinomofo has epic deals on the world’s » people. Its all-in-one human resources, best wine brands. But deals are just the ZhiZhangYi is building cutting edge payroll and benefits software is an one stop beginning: Vinomofo selects only the wine solutions for the mobile security industry. shop for elevating business and people to its experts love, and utilizes the buying Using its vastly experienced team, the the next level. It is a simplified, easy to use power of over 400,000 fans to ensure the Chinese company has developed virtual system that runs itself. Little wonder many prices you get are the best anywhere on security domain technology, which can of Asia’s top online brands are using it to earth. It’s convenient, well priced - and, be used to protect smartphones without achieve their goals. above all, tasty! the support of mobile app developers. It’s a vital, and easy to use, cog in the fight against cybercrime.

Trillium Incorporated WineSOFT Inc. David M. Uze Bonggoo Lee Japan South Korea

» Trillium Incorporated brings a » WineSOFT is the creator of STON Edge comprehensive automotive cybersecurity Server, a highly performative reverse proxy suite to the fast-moving automotive server software that improves content sector. Its software-based technology is delivery quality, offloads system backends designed to run on resource-constrained and saves costs. Whether an e-commerce, ECU devices and IVN configurations. It is enterprise, media or gaming company, fully HW, TROS and cypher agnostic, and you will feel the effortless advantage of the requires minimal optimization to run on STON Edge Server. unique chipsets and combinations.

www.REDHERRING.com 31 Feature Story

NetNumber CEO Doug Ranalli: Build the story, then get the finance

oug Ranalli often tells people he’s almost overnight. “We went from nothing NetNumber was doing the latter. It meant never held a proper job. That’s not to 750 people in five years,” Ranalli tells Red there was a potential windfall in leaping D really the truth – though regular Herring. “And literally at that point we were ahead of competition. But it also ruled out a office life clearly wasn’t his deal. Ranalli’s dead: nobody cared about fax.” quick buck – something that, in today’s age first taste of entrepreneurialism came aged of phenomenally quick tech success, can just 19, when he bootstrapped Student Life It could have crushed him. But Ranalli feel anathema. Magazine while still an undergraduate at hopped right on the entrepreneur wagon Cornell University. So well did it perform again, this time seeing potential in a “small “It’s a different story to most startups you that when Ranalli graduated in 1983 he aspect” of the telco industry: “Interworking see,” Ranalli admits, adding that he did continued with it, growing a readership of between legacy public cellphone networks get nervous that it could all come crashing over a million until Time, Inc swooped in and next-generation IP networks.” down before a single client had been won. to buy it in 1987. “I intentionally looked for a space that was Within a year of Fax International’s demise undefined. I didn’t want the risk of the A year later Ranalli turned to tech, his first Ranalli bought a handful of patents in business disappearing on me in the middle love, and completed an MBA at Harvard his new space and used them to found of the process. And I was ready to take four Business School. When he completed his NetNumber in Lowell, Massachusetts. years of nothing.” studies, it was 1990. Internet ubiquity hadn’t He took 25 of his favorite engineers from arrived and Ranalli saw an opportunity in his former firm and soon raised a million telecoms – specifically fax – and founded dollars from VCs. “We are working in a Fax International with a view to providing huge industry – one of the fax-over-IP services worldwide. Ranalli’s previous ventures had taken off almost immediately. NetNumber was biggest in the world – so Ranalli hadn’t tasted failure. He wouldn’t different. He and his team spent four-and- of course it’s full of really with Fax International either, which grew a-half years building technology with no from a backroom project to a 750-employee revenue whatsoever. “We were stumbling big competitors... We can firm with offices in ten countries. INC around in the desert trying to find our way,” prove that competitors will magazine rated it 20th in its fastest-growing he says, adding wryly, “It took Moses 40 years. private company list from 1992 to 1997. leave clients with inferior Things were looking very, very good. As an entrepreneur, Ranalli says, “you really have two choices: You’re either going to try functionality that we can Then everything changed. The Internet to innovate within an existing market where deliver with our niche came along, killing fax and stripping Fax you know exactly what to do. Or you could International of its 16,000 corporate clients innovate in a new space.” technology.” - Doug Ranalli

32 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Feature Story

NetNumber, Inc. has more than 16 years of experience delivering software-based signaling-control solutions, NetNumber enables operators to accelerate the implementation of new services across multiple generations of networks, while dramatically simplifying the core network (TITAN) and reducing operating costs.

NetNumber’s solutions enable around 20 different smartphones? Our looking ahead at a period of “significant telecommunications companies to competitors sell customers 20 different growth,” says Ranalli. “We’ve got the staff, accelerate the implementation of services smartphones.” we’ve got the product, and we know we’re across multiple network generations – going to see tremendous growth.” all the while reducing complication and NetNumber can integrate the 20 functions operational cost. The firm believes it has across one solution. It is a model that has In a sector that is often loathe to eliminate discovered the end of silo signaling services. won it well over 100 clients, and which technology, once a firm like NetNumber has allowed it to expand into Europe with gives a communications tool to customers, “Our job is to radically simplify signaling a continental headquarters in Utrecht, the it takes a very long time for them to give it control,” says Ranalli. There are 20 specific Netherlands. up. It appears, 18 years into NetNumber’s functions that every carrier in the world existence, that Ranalli’s instinct to trust his must implement in their network, he adds. “We are working in a huge industry – one team and tech and wait for the industry to “Customers have been told they have to of the biggest in the world – so of course it’s catch up, has paid off. buy 20 different platforms, integrate 20 full of really big competitors,” he adds. “It different platforms, train 20 different teams gives us the ability to achieve competitive He knows it pits him against the lightspeed- of people, manage vendor relationships for superiority over much bigger competitors. moving Facebooks and Ubers of the modern those 20 platforms, upgrade. That’s really Bigger competitors bundle. We can prove tech landscape. He doesn’t care. “First you complicated, expensive and inflexible.” that competitors will leave clients with build the story, then you get the finance,” he inferior functionality that we can deliver says. “There’s not always a six month cycle “Imagine you pull your smartphone out with our niche technology.” from start to finish. of your pocket,” he adds. “And on that smartphone you have 20 different apps. In its first four, unprofitable years the “In truth it’s never that fast.” Wouldn’t it be worse if you had to carry company grew to 180 employees and is

www.REDHERRING.com 33 Feature Story

NOMOS SYSTEM: Becoming the internet of things’ “Universal Interpreter”

here are now around 20 billion “The systems integrators, the electricians and utilities will lead the way. Each employs connected devices worldwide: just and the professionals…they all looked a dense network of devices and systems under three for every human being at me and said, ‘What, you’re from that needs connecting. Ton earth. To say 2018 is the “year of Switzerland and you try to sell software in IoT” is a bit like claiming Donald Trump’s a hardware-dominated industry?’” he adds. Nomos is there to do so. Its solution, presidential run is gathering pace: the which elevates software and hardware to horse hasn’t just bolted – it has streaked But Hüssy knew otherwise. His idea was a single communication layer, is adaptable off into the sunset, dragging the barnyard first formed six years previous, in 2004, and easily controllable. It is also light, at behind it. when Apple launched its iTunes Music 613KB, and is compatible with over 36,000 service in the European Union. Friends protocols: an “IoT solution for everyone,” With this flood of connected gadgetry comes and family used it right away “because it as the company describes itself. a great need for interoperability: for devices was so much more convenient,” he says. to speak to each other. Enter Bernhard “For me it was a breaking point.” “I connect computers and lonely machines Hüssy. The Swiss entrepreneur founded together,” says Hüssy, whose understated Nomos System, a software engine that can As George Bernard Shaw once said, demeanor underpins an ambition to grow control connected devices across multiple “Monogamy will take care of itself provided his company organically, rather than search protocols or standards, in 2010, when a the parties are free enough.” No longer for angels and their millions. Retaining an proliferation in proprietary platforms was was the world about proprietary touch increase in revenue is a “very beautiful complexifying like never before. panels and remotes, Hüssy reckoned: it was thing,” he adds: “It makes people more about software that could control other trustful who have dedicated a part of their At that time – especially in his home software, whatever their provenance. “The lives to us.” country – hardware was king. Hüssy, a future belonged to software,” he says. “And former entertainment systems installer connectivity.” It’s a very Swiss way to do business. The and consultant, found his software-based European state has become renowned for plans “dismissed,” he tells Red Herring in Few today would doubt that to be true. its high levels of innovation in recent years, a deliberate, Zürcher tone. “For a long time According to Forbes the global IoT market led by multinational corporations like I felt it close to suicidal to start a software will grow from $157bn in 2016, to $457bn Google, which has its largest research and company with international ambitions out in 2020, at a compound annual growth development center outside of the US in of Switzerland, because we’re not a country rate (CAGR) of 28.5%. Heavy industry like Hüssy’s hometown of Zürich. Switzerland known for software. manufacturing, transportation, logistics has ranked first on the Global Innovation

34 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Feature Story

Administrator Portal Index eight of the last nine years. Its universities are world-beaters. Visualizing the System Health, monitoring the overall Life-Cycle Device Mgt, liberating your App Store Now startups like Nomos System are picking publishing, providing Analytics, Log’s and Reports up on the multinationals’ momentum. At directly out of the cloud. first Hüssy’s recruitment process was “very fast, and we felt overwhelmed all the time,” he says. Controller & Gateway nOS can be deployed on virtually all platforms, Nowadays Nomos can select from a conveyor including low-power devices, or even embedded in belt of tech talent, similar to its peers in a chipset. Handling all processing and connections Silicon Valley. “We just have one difference,” independent from the Internet and expanding with he jokes: “We pay our taxes here!” the cloud when needed. Hüssy sees Zürich as on par with better publicized European tech hubs like User Interface London, Tel Aviv, Berlin or Moscow. But its entrepreneurs aren’t as effusive as their The nOS App is the one place to control all the things continental counterparts. He says, “We’re around you instantly and setting up all your devices is not so much rockstars. (We must) do a good insanely simple, in just three steps. job and talk about it. It’s as simple as that.”

Hüssy and his firm have followed that mantra and it is paying dividends. Today Nomos has delivered over 21,000 systems, which work fully offline, worldwide. November last year it was honored at the Swiss ICT Awards, alongside Experience Management firm Advertima, in the central Swiss city of Lucerne.

That has energized Hüssy to scale Nomos into verticals like residential, aviation and other IoT-reliant enterprise industries that will need his solution more and more in the near future.

Despite his admission that the IoT world is in “something of a bubble,” the increase in the use of cloud systems will ensure companies need Nomos to get their constituent parts talking.

“We see ourselves as a universal interpreter,” he adds, with philosophical brio. “We don’t care what kind of religion or political In cooperation with JUNG USA, nomos system AG introduces its new Lutron mindset is going to bring you forward. We’re – KNX gateway. The gateway enables the bidirectional use of the JUNG KNX the bridge: a gate to connection. We see keypads in a Lutron based installation. Similarly, commands can be triggered ourselves not as developers but as protocol via Lutron keypads. Through the integration of Amazon Alexa, it is also craftsmen. We want to bring a gate to possible to control Lutron shades, scenes and dimming channels via voice multiple crafts.” command. In addition to the JUNG KNX System, the gateway also able to integrate ioT devices i.e. Sonos, Phillips HUE, Apple TV, iTunes . The Lutron Given the way Hüssy has steadily grown his – KNX gateway has an open driver structure, which allows the installer to solution into a software mainstay, it could integrate current devices from the AV industry. be said he is already a major IoT gatekeeper.

www.REDHERRING.com 35 Feature Story

HYBRID AND IoT NEED FAILURES SOLVED QUICK: FIXSTREAM KNOWS HOW

hroughout his professional career FixStream’s solution can also be effectively Also in the near future is how FixStream Sameer Padhye has learned to leveraged for those “in migration or can suit the needs of clients using the deal with problems quickly. thinking about migration, to understand Internet of Things (IoT). The explosion in Before diving into the tech world what the dependencies are, and how the IoT adoption means that endpoints will The was a commercial airline pilot. It barely migration should be done,” says Padhye. increase tremendously. “All this information needs explaining why issues need to be “60-70% of your preparation is either is coming back and it’s interacting with the overcome swiftly at 30,000 feet. identifying the challenge – or in the case of core application that’s running in the data migration identifying the dependencies.” center, which is using that information As CEO of FixStream, an artificial to provide some sort of value–whether intelligence platform for IT operations, In 2014 Mumbai IT giant Tech Mahindra it’s turning on the city lights, or whether communicating that message has been more saw the potential in Padhye and his team, it’s water gates, temperature–all of this difficult – even if the core business could and acquired a 75% stake for $10m. It has information will be brought into the data save companies hundreds of thousands of allowed FixStream to grow, and to win center,” says Padhye. dollars in minutes. And with an increasing clients including Orange, AT&T, Amazon number of firms switching to hybrid cloud Web Services, Cisco, Airbus and many more. “More and more applications are going to applications, FixStream’s importance has be increasingly life-saving, like 911-types never been higher. That has made it easier for the company to of applications,” he adds. “So once you roll show potential clients how it can be of value. it out, and people depend on it, it becomes FixStream, which was founded in 2013, But Padhye wants to scale throughout the extremely important. Most of these will be allows companies to understand the root United States and Europe, and is hiring a virtualized, with massive scale. You need causes of system failures. “FixStream gives number of salespeople “to get the message to detect the application environment very you a complete footprint of the application out, build the brand.” Then he will begin quickly.” and the infrastructure that that application hiring additional engineering talent. is consuming, whether it’s in the hybrid That speed, visibility and value proposition state,” Padhye tells Red Herring. “So the Padhye’s team will soon have its first customer is what has propelled Padhye, and ability to detect the root cause is one of the in Japan, Padhye adds. “So it’s a balancing act FixStream, to the success it has built in just most common value propositions people between the growth and the supply.” four years of operation. Given the speed derive from FixStream.” at which hybrid and IoT applications are FixStream is making plenty of headway – multiplying, it is success that looks set to In some cases, Padhye adds, FixStream for instance, partnering with Nutanix to continue for years to come. can save companies to the tune of 500%. enter the hyper-converged infrastructure When data goes down it can cost around space. It has also signed a distribution deal Padhye has long since downed his aviator $300,000-400,000 to revive. In one recent with CenturyLink – and Padhye says that hat. But his second life as a tech CEO is case the cost was $72,000 per minute. news of partnerships will keep coming in already taking off. the following months. “What normally takes a day or a week, FixStream can identify that within a minute, Sameer Padhye, Founder because most of those dependencies are and CEO at FixStram Networks: constantly computed in the background,” Our mission at Fixstream is to make Padhye says. sense out of massive amounts of disparate data and solve complex Hybrid is almost ubiquitously used Datacenter and Cloud problems by leading companies today. But the using a fraction of time interaction between cloud applications, and resources. and those on-premises, can cause issues. FixStream’s technology offers continuous monitoring, preventing and diagnosing any issues that arise.

36 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Feature Story Is Your Network Burdened by Excessive Signaling Traffi c?

NetNumber dramatically simplifi es your Learn why hundreds of CSPs signaling infrastructure, enabling you to trust us @ www.netnumber.com innovate new services in: • IoT and M2M • Private LTE Networks • Signaling Security and Robocalling Protection • Mobile Edge Computing • 5G • NFV and SDN www.REDHERRING.com 37 Feature Story

The curiosity to understand - I only realized recently that was the driving force to me. - Philippe Courtot, CEO, Qualys

38 RED HERRING || SPECIAL SPECIAL EDITION EDITION Feature Story QUALYS AND ITS LEGENDARY CEO ARE SECURING THE FUTURE

hen Qualys started trading on Security Alliance, a mutual association for was at that time struggling. He removed the NASDAQ on October 5, best practice in the cloud, we launched it the management team and transformed 2012, the company’s pre-IPO almost 10 years ago and Philippe was one the company into a dominant email Wvaluation stood at $306 million. It raised of the three Silicon Valley CEOs that gave platform provider, grabbing a 40% share $90 million at the offering and the share me the seed funding.” of the market before selling it to Lotus in value, $14.25 on its first day, slowly started 1991 for $55 million. He then took over to climb. Six years later, 12 analysts polled When Courtot was studying physics at Verity, which offered enterprise knowledge by CNN Money view this Red Herring Top the University of Paris, he found he didn’t retrieval solutions, and led its IPO in 1995. 100 Award winner as one of the steadiest understand Heisenberg’s Uncertainty His next company was Signio, an electronic forces in the technology security segment. Principle. Perturbed by not being able to payments firm acquired by VeriSign for At its latest closing, Qualys’ stock - at $93 grasp the fundamentals of the theory, he $1.3 billion in 2000. - has soared and the clients’ list continues asked his classmates for help. They reacted to expand among the Fortune 500. With a with scorn, asking him why he couldn’t All of which led him to Qualys in January market cap exceeding $3.6 billion, it ranks understand the concept, which at its most 2001. Courtot invested when it was founded among the Top 10 security companies, basic describes the difficulties in measuring in 1999. Soon after, VC money disappeared alongside Palo Alto Networks, Checkpoint certain pairs of physical properties of in the wake the internet bubble bursting. and Symantec. And now forecasters expect particles. Courtot remained none the wiser. As the company looked for a second and the Redwood City SaaS pioneer will utilize larger round of investment, Courtot cut a the elasticity of its platform to expand its “20 or 30 years later I read a book about sabbatical in South America short, invested footprint significantly. Einstein that said he didn’t understand $25 million of his own money, and took the principle of Heisenberg either. over as CEO. The firm consolidated its Philippe Courtot, the CEO of Qualys, is Why? Because it’s almost impossible to balance sheet, adding equity from both ever the storyteller, and is defying longevity understand,” says Courtot in a meeting Trident Capital in Silicon Valley and Los rules after 17 years at the helm. He recalls room at the Qualys headquarters in Foster Angeles-based Upfront Ventures. Yves the days when a native SaaS security model City. Now aged 74, Courtot has guided Sisteron, Upfront’s founding Managing was frowned upon by competitors, CIOs multiple startups to enviable triumphs, and Partner, remembers of meeting Courtot and CSOs (chief security officers). He attributes his success to the same guiding in 2003:” It took us little time to make a often compares the steady Qualys ascent philosophy that allowed him to admit positive decision to invest in Philippe, and to that of Amazon and Salesforce. “The his lack of understanding all those years Qualys needed no adult supervision. An biggest lesson I learned is to measure previously at school, and would push him exceptional and educational ride by all myself by creating value to the customers,” to become a cloud computing pioneer and metrics.” he explains in a French accent. “It takes visionary. a long time to build a platform - it is the The Qualys offering rests on a simple downside, but once it is completed, it “The curiosity to understand - I only proposition, much easier talked about becomes ubiquitous, like Amazon for realized recently that was the driving force than executed. The company provides a consumers,” he adds. to me,” Courtot explains. “I can see that powerful automated platform to protect t o d ay.” everything connected to the internet, Like Courtot, Qualys can consider itself a all of the time. Courtot put his faith and veteran of the industry. “They were there Courtot, having previously headed up the resources into the cloud early on, and grew from the start,” says Jim Reavis, CEO, Cloud medical imaging company Thomson CGR its cloud-based subscription service that Security Alliance. “I started the Cloud Medical, joined cc:Mail in 1987 which protects, networks, apps, devices, 24/7.

When it launched, the first product focused on vulnerability assessment, scanning The biggest lesson I learned organizations’ digital assets and signaling is to measure myself by upcoming menaces. Based on that scalable platform, a re-engineering process which creating value to the customers. lasted four years supplemented the offering

www.REDHERRING.com 39 Feature Story

with compliance modules and eventually that model which could distribute that Sisteron who spent ten years as a Qualys with OCA, to configure global assets computing power everywhere.” board member. “In fact, sometimes globally. The results followed. In 2018, it this has given me the image of someone caters to 10,300 clients in 130 countries, Courtot and Qualys have taken complete impossible to deal with, since I ask for protecting on-premise and cloud-based advantage of this distributed system by full intellectual honesty from my team” infrastructures. building a steadfast platform on which confesses Courtot. It also complements a they can add services, sometimes for critical part of Courtot’s philosophy: “It “Qualys maximizes the power of the cloud,” free. Since it went public, Courtot has is useless trying to push a product onto a says Courtot. “Now you can distribute that circumvented Silicon Valley’s engineering customer against their will, or having an computing power to everybody on the shortage by setting up a large facility attitude of trying to make the most money planet at a fraction of the cost.” overseas. Four hundred engineers out of out of them possible.” He resisted for years the 1000 employees are based in Puni. recommendations to increase its pricing in Courtot has always stayed true to his vision Courtot paraphrases Jack Welch’s quote: order to maintain Qualys’ reputation. for Qualys, even when the industry was in “Jack went to India for the talent and GE its infancy. “He was the contrarian back The third pillar is patience. SaaS then, because most of the security companies require 12-15 years to industry was selling you on boxes be anchored with clients, far more and appliances,” says Reavis. “He than other disruptional technology. was stubborn when companies I don’t want to try Customer adoption, customers’ wanted to just purchase the box and create growth just reluctance to externalize critical instead of the integrated solution data, and funding do not bode as a service. He wouldn’t stray from to make the stock go well with overnight investors that. He’s playing 3D chess and he’s or traditional software analysts. looking several steps in the future.” up. ... we catered Qualys Despite this success in the stock’s progress, Courtot has never been Talking to Courtot, his philosophy to long term investors, one to pander to Wall Street. “We shines through. Each point he were profitable when we went makes starts with an anecdote of telling them what we’re public, and a lot of the analysts questionable relevance, before he told us why don’t you spend more comes full circle and reaches the doing and why ... the money to get more short term crux of his statement, and it’s clear company is positioned growth,” remembers Courtot. “My this is a person who has spent a explanations were plain: ‘I don’t lifetime perfecting the art of true as a solid long term want to try and create growth just understanding and knowledge to make the stock go up, that will gathering. This understated form offering. be good for you but you don’t have of management and leadership is to invest in Qualys, nobody forces perhaps the reason the company y ou .’” flies under the radar occasionally. He discovered the talent. Qualys went to Pune highlights three major elements to for the costs and discovered the talent.” So we catered Qualys to long term describe the six years since the IPO. investors, telling them what we’re doing Customers are impressed. “Qualys and why and our goals and abided by the First, the cost structure. “People are very allows us to have a baseline standard for same vision. It’s difficult to find long term surprised at how profitable we are, says security,” Chris Lalonde, Senior Manager, investors but we have a lot of them and Courtot. “It’s because everything we’ve Information Security, eBay says. Qualys’ they share our values, they were there at done is coherent to that [cloud distributed] capabilities are especially useful for the beginning. And they look at Qualys, model. I didn’t want to throw an army auditing network security at partner when the stock goes down they buy the of Armani-suited sales guys to get the companies and helping them remediate dip. That gives us a very nice flow. That’s business. Why? because the cloud allows vulnerabilities. “Using Qualys to audit why Qualys is a stock that doesn’t go down you to bring the solution at a minimum security of partner networks is much too much, because we have long term cost. When I interview sales people today, simpler, faster and less expensive than investors.” I say you have to realize in a few years other options,” Lalonde adds. we won’t need any sales people. You look The market has noticed: in 2012, the at Amazon, do we need a salesperson to Second, integrity as a founding principle. company was positioned as a solid long download an app on our phone? No. So “Courtot has always placed great emphasis term offering, and has rewarded investors everything we did was in coherence of on having the right team around him” says who have stuck around. While most

40 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Feature Story

SaaS companies favor growth over well respected industry veteran sums it Courtot in Quotes profitability, Qualys has delivered both up: “Qualys and Courtot have achieved simultaneously for the past 23 quarters. beyond expectations: it is a textbook On his business philosophy: success.” “The biggest lesson I learned, if you want In July 2018, Qualys reported quarterly to summarize my business success, I net income of $10.3 million, or 24 measure myself not by the money but cents per share, a significant rise from by creating value to the customers. If $7.2 million, or 18 cents per share a Qualys in numbers: year earlier. Revenue rose from $55.3 you understand that, you’ll always be million for the corresponding quarter • Founded in 1999 successful, it’s the harder role because it last year to $68.2 million this year, a takes time to understand and you have 24% increase. In the first quarter of • The company counts to make the effort, but once you do, the year, Morgan Stanley had praised more than 10,300 global everything becomes simple.” the company, saying in a report: “With businesses in more than its highly scalable cloud architecture, 130 countries as customers. On freemium services: Qualys has been quick to market with “I don’t do freemium, that would be a additional solutions that span beyond • Market cap: $3.7 billion very big mistake if you do freemium that vulnerability management, positioning means you entrap people,” says Courtot. Qualys well for the trend of greater • 3 billion + IP scans and “If you give them a service that does consolidation of functionality in audits per year exactly what it’s supposed to do in the s e c u r it y.” best way possible, you’ve earned their • 1001 employees worldwide trust and then they can try the other Ray Rothrock, Redseal’s CEO, a leading service on the same platform.” security Silicon Valley innovator, and a • 74% of the Forbes Global 50 are customers On intellectual honesty: “You don’t fool yourself, you don’t fool others. If you make a mistake you make a mistake and then think what do you learn?”

On the cloud: “My view of the cloud is a pretty simple view but I think it’s a very correct view. If you look at the story of computing, the mainframe was distributing the computing power to the companies that could afford having these big mainframes. And then of course the mini computer comes in which was using the same architecture but newer technology so it could shrink the computing power so now you could bring it to the labs. The mini architecture wasn’t enough to distribute the computer power broader, so this is when the client server came in: the network the PC and the servers. Now you could distribute the computing power to every person in your company. And now the cloud and the internet came in and you can distribute that computing power to everybody on the planet at a fraction of the cost.”

www.REDHERRING.com 41 Feature Story

iDisclose

hen the JOBS act was signed City to help entrepreneurs streamline the management professor Valentina into law in 2012 by then many energy-sapping legal and regulatory Assenova has found during research United States’ President processes. The company’s LawCloud that although most venture capital WBarack Obama, entrepreneurs found a platform contains a wide range of business funding goes to companies in particular whole host of new ways to raise funds and and financing documents, and the services locations (predominantly Silicon Valley), bring their ideas to reality. But with the provided give entrepreneurs a simple crowdfunding has enabled companies rise of crowdfunding and online funding question and answer process to fill in. outside of the traditional places to find platforms, regulation became even more investment for their ideas. Assenova’s important. The forms and documents that iDisclose paper found a strong correlation between helps out with include Form ID, which is the growth of crowdfunding between For anyone who has taken crowdfunded required to file any forms with the SEC, 2009 and 2014 and the growth of investment, Form C, the regulatory Form C for crowdfunding issuers, Form D follow-on venture capital investment document required by the SEC, will for companies raising capital under certain activity in the geographies not traditionally be very familiar. But the complexity of exemptions, equity-related documents, attracting a lot of capital. forms and regulations like these can debt-related documents, and customized rob entrepreneurs of two very valuable documents for the specific needs of a And crowdfunding has also opened commodities: time and money. company. investment opportunities for underserved entrepreneurs. Research by Pledge Me “It’s either a friction and it costs money “The entrepreneur does around 60-70% Six Founder Anna Guenther showed and time and entrepreneurs don’t have of the work, and then an experienced that only 4 percent of venture capital was much of either of those. Or they can avoid corporate security attorney, that either being directed towards female-run it altogether and then when it’s a bunch they have on their own or we recommend, businesses. But Guenther says 40% of of time later on, they really have to pay finishes it off and files with the SEC,” companies that raised money on the through the nose,” explains Doug Ellenoff, explains Ellenoff. Pledge Me Six platform had female chief Co-founder and Chairman of iDisclose, a executives. company providing a rigorous solution to Crowdfunding has become a major option the problem. for entrepreneurs, particularly when they But with this boon in funding options haven’t been able to secure investment come the complexity of being legally iDisclose was founded in 2015 in New York from more traditional methods. Wharton compliant, which is where iDisclose

42 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Feature Story

Douglas S. Ellenoff, co-founder and chairman of iDisclose, is a corporate and securities attorney with a specialty in business transactions and corporate financings.

helps out. One of the tricker solutions the “When you incorporate a company and affordable to issuers,” said Co-founder company has had to solve is getting people and you answer the questions that are and CEO of Republic Kendrick Nguyen. who sometimes are big picture dreamers necessary to incorporate in whatever space to concentrate on the gritty legal details of you want, we capture those responses Now that iDisclose has built out its library running a company. and it automatically populates nearly of documents, the company is in sales 100 documents in the mode. Elenoff says they will be looking “We’ve tried to see what “When you database. So the more for more partnerships with incubators, can we do to make incorporate a you do with us the less coworking spaces, and crowdfunding these entrepreneurs you need to do later on,” platforms as these are the “gatekeepers” of compliant and not over company and you Elenoff explains. entrepreneurs. complicate to the point that they lose interest in answer the questions iDisclose has forged Even the most journeyed of entrepreneurs actually accomplishing that are necessary partnerships with many can admit to getting caught up in the vision the task. And so there’s different organizations and miss the smaller regulatory issues, a real art to that,” says to incorporate in to gain access to which is why services like those provided Ellenoff. whatever space you entrepreneurs, including by iDisclose are even more crucial. By Republic, the AngelList making compliance easier and more This is achieved in want, we capture crowdfunding spinoff, affordable, the company is doing a great part by having such Funding Wonder and service to the entrepreneurial community a comprehensive those responses SeedInvest. as a whole. library of documents. and it automatically Companies can sign “Republic’s collaboration up on a subscription populates nearly 100 with iDisclose has basis at $9.99 per documents in the been important to month, and then have our development of all their regulatory database.” a product that meets requirements simplified regulatory best practices over time. and is also manageable

www.REDHERRING.com 43 Feature Story

EMQ’S “REMITTANCE RAILROAD” THROUGH SOUTHEAST ASIA REQUIRED PATIENCE – AND RESOLVE

E ach Sunday, in Hong Kong, was a high-flying Wall Street merchant The global remittance market is worth hundreds of Philippine migrant banker. Fintech was still something one an estimated $581 billion, according to workers queue up outside remittance might read an article about “once a week,” analyst Pew Global. For years it has been offices, the lines snaking around entire city he tells Red Herring. “I felt a massive dominated by gigantic, slow-moving blocks, to send money home. For most, it’s convergence was going to happen.” companies like Western Union and their only free day each week. Oftentimes MoneyGram. In other words: it is ripe for the process takes four hours. Transfer fees Four years ago, the majority of headlines disruption. cost between $20 and $25. heralded fintechs that would take the big banks on in their backyards, aiming their Liu and his team first wrote down the It was this 170,000-strong community that slingshots at goliaths’ shares of financial names of the countries they wanted Max Liu, CEO and co-founder of Hong markets that had remained stagnant to target. Southeast Asia was a huge Kong-based fintech startup EMQ, chose throughout the digital revolution. Liu opportunity. According to KPMG only to target when he opened the company in had another plan. His idea was to build a 27% of people living in the region have 2014. It would not be easy. But then, little platform to work with the banks; “to co- a bank account. That leaves almost half a about Liu’s life as a tech entrepreneur has exist,” he says. “We took the approach: Can billion people unbanked – the majority of been straightforward. we find a way to build with the regulations, whom own smartphones. Little wonder build with the compliance, and partner Asian giants like Alibaba and Tencent are Born in Hawaii, Liu was set for a lucrative with these banks?” searching for mobile financial solutions. career in the financial sector. By 2014 he

44 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Feature Story

Migrant workers total around 330,000 in “We didn’t know anybody in those Liu spent long periods away from his Hong Kong, where EMQ is headquartered. countries,” he says. “And what they said young family. It was grueling. Almost two Remittances sent to the Philippines totaled is, We don’t understand what you’re years after he began, it paid off. $30 billion in 2017, the second largest doing…At the end of the day, we are in the destination for cash behind the $61bn sent money movement business, it’s all about EMQ’s first partnership arrived with Hong to mainland China, according to the World compliance, all about regulations. These Kong’s Shanghai Commercial Bank, in Bank (China’s population is 13 times that of are the things we need to invest in first. Not 2015. A year later it paired with Cebuana the Philippines). The ability for these people only get those licenses, but maintaining the Lhuillier, a Philippine financial services to send money fast and cheaply “was the low licenses.” provider. In December 2017 the company hanging fruit…the way for us to grease the won a $6.5 million Series A funding wheel on our network,” says Liu. EMQ’s team spent days in the air hopping round from “well-known Silicon Valley between regional capital cities, trying entrepreneurs and international venture But finance is a piranha pool of regulation to explain their plan to offer low-cost capital (VC) firms,” according to a Deal and compliance. Liu’s plan to partner, remittances in real-time. The company’s Street Asia report. Since then it has forged rather than fight, was sage. But that created first $15,000 paid a team of lawyers to deals with banks and financial firms in another problem: nobody knew who he study three countries. Their verdict? Don’t Indonesia, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam and was. And if there’s one thing banks are most do this. mainland China. certainly not, it is friendly to outsiders.

www.REDHERRING.com 45 Feature Story

Hong Kong’s Philippine community was the perfect petri dish for EMQ’s solution. It collaborated with Tencent’s WeChat, to offer Hong Kong-based Filipinos a “We Pay” remittance function through the WeChat app. Soon, a solution extant only in Max Liu’s mind, was having a huge impact on the streets of EMQ’s home base.

“People used to stand in line for hours on a Sunday to get something in the bank, but now it’s just a couple clicks on the buttons and people can get back to what they were doing,” says Liu. “This is a huge change in user experience.

“It would sound cliché, but it feels really good when you wake up and knowing you are building businesses that actually adds values to people,” he adds.

China is making huge strides in cashless payments. Southeast Asia is very different. Each of its 11 countries has different needs, controls, different ways of doing business – and different currency. Copy- pasting China’s cashless model simply isn’t workable, says Liu, who likens his role linking the region to that of a digital railroad builder. “It’s hard,” he admits. “Multiple currencies and countries. You need rails to put up all that together. And EMQ are trying to be the bridge between all those countries and cross border “People used to stand in line transactions.” for hours on a Sunday to get Last year EMQ made a deal with Philippine company GCash to remit cash through the something in the bank, but company’s app. Last month EMQ signed with FOMO Pay, Singapore’s leading QR now it’s just a couple clicks on code payment solution provider, to enable the buttons and people can real-time international settlements from the city-state to China. Ethnic Chinese get back to what they were comprise 74.3% of Singapore’s near-6m population. doing,” says Max Liu, CEO It’s another step in EMQ’s complicated, and co-founder of Hong Kong- but potentially lucrative, steamroll across southeast Asia. Little wonder, then, that based fintech startup EMQ. when asked for some advice for fellow fintech potentates, Liu says, without “This is a huge change in user hesitation, “Really think through the business. experience.”

“Solve difficult problems,” he adds, prosaically. “That’s our direction.”

46 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION

Top 100 Companies: EuropeNorth America America:A-Z Ad Lightning, Inc. NSS Labs AdCellerant Numerix AgileCraft Onapsis Aqua Security One, Inc. Arctic Wolf OneKloud Aryaka OpsPanda Attivo Networks OWHealth AutoGrid Parsable automotiveMastermind Inc. Payoneer Averon PenBlade, Inc. BaseVenture PeopleDoc Bidwise, Inc. Plutora BluVector Prevedere Busca Corp Quali Chain Inc Quri Contrast Security, Inc. Razorthink, Inc. Conversica Returnly Technologies, Inc Datiphy, Inc. RideCell, Inc. Digital Guardian RiskIQ, Inc. Doxo Seal Software Engagio Seceon enSilo Sepio Systems Entreda SignalFx eSUB Construction Software Signifyd FixStream Skuid Fundrise Sonendo, Inc. Grabit Inc. SparkCognition Green CLoud Technologies SPLT GridGain Systems StemoniX Igneous Systems Switchmate Home Innovium Inc. TARA Biosystems InSilixa Inc. Tenor Insticator Inc ThoughtSpot IntelliVision TidalScale, Inc. Kinnek Trade Ideas LLC Koble Inc. TurnKey Vacation Rentals Lacework Tyromer Inc. Lastline, Inc. vArmour LifeAssist Versa Networks MapD VoteBash Maria Shireen Wearsafe Labs Metamaterial Technologies Inc Wylei Mimosa Networks, Inc. Yandy.com MiNDERA Zadara Storage Mojo Networks Zaloni Motionloft Zentera Systems, Inc. NetNumber Zephyr Health NGCodec ZeroFOX NoviFlow inc. ZINFI Technologies Nozomi Networks

48 RED HERRING | | SPECIAL SPECIAL EDITION EDITION Top 100 Companies: North America

Ad Lightning Aqua Security Attivo networks www.adlightning.com www.aquasec.com www.attivonetworks.com Scott Moore DrorDavidoff Tushar Kothari Marketing/Advertising/SOE Security Security Washington Massachusetts California

» In the age of programmatic advertising, » Aqua Security was founded by IT security » Attivo offers deception technology that it’s all too easy to have a poor or unsuitable veterans in 2015 and set about trying to helps companies outmaneuver in-network advertisement associated with your brand. solve the security challenges of software cyber attacks. The company’s platform These low quality ads can decrease user containers. The company’s container provides threat detection for networks, engagement, slow page load times, and security platform works to address the data centers, clouds, and ICD-SCADA cost millions in revenue. Ad Lightning, many challenges, which include visibility, environments. The company’s deception founded in 2016, gives publishers and ad control, isolation, intrusion detection, and suite lures attackers into revealing platforms the tools to pinpoint bad ads and more. This lets businesses enjoy the benefits themselves and can detect the use of stolen the processes needed to remove them. of containers without risking security. credentials, ransomware, and targeted attacks.

AdCellerant Arctic Wolf www.adcellerant.com www.arcticwolf.com AutoGrid Brock Berry Brian NeSmith www.auto-grid.com Marketing/Advertising/SOE Security Amit Narayan Colorado California Clean Tech California » AdCellerant has a simple goal - it wants to » Arctic Wolf Networks is a security make quality digital marketing accessible operations center-as-a-service company » Autogrid was established in 2011 at for every business. The company goes about that hopes to redefine the economics of Stanford University. The company applies chasing this goal by partnering with local security. The company’s AWN CyberSOC cutting-edge analytics and energy data marketers, media companies, agencies, and solution includes 24x7 monitoring, science to solve some of the world’s most channel sales organizations to help them incident investigation and response, and critical energy problems. The world’s largest leverage its advertising software platform, custom alerting.Clients don’t have to energy companies use Autogrid to integrate UI. Marketing. In more than 4 years since buy hardware or software. Arctic Wolf their distributed energy resources, discover it was founded, AdCellerant has grown to was founded in 2012 and is based out of new revenue streams, and drive better a team of more than 25, and has executed Sunnyvale, California. engagement with customers. Autogrid’s campaigns in five countries. suite of internet applications allow energy companies to provide more reliable, efficient, and clean energy. Aryaka AgileCraft www.aryaka.com agilecraft.com Shawn Farshchi Steve Elliott Cloud Computing Software California Texas » Aryaka supports the execution demands » AgileCraft delivers a software solution of modern businesses through a global for scaling Agile to the enterprise. The software defined wide area network company’s platform combines planning, (SD-WAN). The company combines a analysis, forecasting and visualization with purpose-built private network, SD-WAN, multi-level collaboration and management. optimization and acceleration techniques, Led by Steve Elliott, the company was connectivity to cloud platforms, and founded in 2013 and is based out of Austin, network visibility in a solution delivered as Texas. a service. www.REDHERRING.com 49 Top 100 Companies: North America

Automotivemastermind BaseVenture Busca Corp. automotivemastermind.com www.baseventure.com www.buscacorp.com Marco Schnabl John Pizzi Ramon Toledo Cloud Computing SaaS, Financial Service Video Games New York California California

» Automotivemastermind was founded » BaseVenture provides software» Busca Corp. is a digital entertainment in 2012 and is now a business unit of IHS that simplifies how private funds network based in Mexico, Latin America, Markit. The company offers predictive are administered and managed. The and the U.S. hispanic market. The analytics and marketing automation company’s flagship product is a modern company, which has offices in La Jolla, solutions to the automotive industry. solution for investor reporting, document California as well as Mexico, Chile, and Through a cloud-based platform,management, key process automation and Colombia, is one of the leading video game Automotivemastermind is able to help communication. content providers for Spanish-speaking car dealers predict the buying behavior gamers. of customers. The company works with nearly 1,300 dealer partners. Bidwise www.bidwise.com Chain Inc www.chain.com Averon Simon Vielma Marketing/Advertising/SOE Adam Ludwin www.averon.com Florida Software Wendell Brown California Security » Bidwise helps companies grow their California sales by getting their products in front » Chain partners with organizations to of shoppers just at the right time: when build, deploy and operate blockchain » Averon has developed the world’s they’re researching for things to buy. First networks that can enable breakthrough first fully automatic and secure mobile the customers tell Bidwise what they are financial products and services. The identity verification standard, which shopping for by searching for products company is the author of Chain Protocol, works for users on both WiFi and LTE. on premium shopping sites, then the which powers its Chain Core blockchain The company’s technology, which is company’s system responds by delivering platform. Chain, headquartered in San protected by 25 patents, authenticate users relevant ads from its advertiser network Francisco, was founded in 2014 and has by using the hardware already contained that matches the intent of the shopper. raised over $40 million in funding to date. in all smartphones and real-time mobile Customers then click on the ads and are network signaling. The solution requires taken to the website of the Bidwise client. no installations, zero effort by the user, and doesn’t need personally identifiable information. Contrast Security www.contrastsecurity.com BluVector Alan Naumann www.bluvector.io/ Software Kris Lovejoy California Security Virginia » Contrast offers a secure technology platform that transforms application » BluVector provides AI-driven network security by making software self- security, using state-of-the-art AI, sensing, protecting. The company’s solution and responding to malware in real time. injects contrast agents into the code, The company spun out of Northrop giving applications thousands of smart, Grumman in 2017, and is now a standalone agile sensors that detect and corrupt business under the leadership of CEO Kris vulnerabilities before deployment, and Lovejoy. protect the software.

50 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: North America

Conversica Doxo Entreda www.conversica.com www.doxo.com www.entreda.com Alex Terry Steve Shivers Sid Yenamandra Software Internet/Online Security California Washington California

» Conversica helps companies find » Doxo makes it easier for consumers to » Entreda’s software platform, Unify, and secure companies by automating manage and pay their bills in one place. helps regulated industries protect client the process of contacting, engaging, The Seattle-based company’s platform information and assets. The platform’s and following up with leads via email has over 2 million users across the US. cybersecurity policy enforcement software conversations. The AI sales assistants are Companies that join doxo are able to analyzes and monitors servers, computers used by more than 1,100 companies across connect easily with their customers, and tablets used by financial institutions the world, and are built on an AI platform increase auto-enrollment and boost mobile to verify enforcement and security best that integrates natural language processing, payments. Huge businesses like AT&T, practices. The company was founded natural language generating, and machine National Grid, Sound Energy and others in 2011 and has offices in Santa Clara, learning capabilities. have used the service, along with smaller California, Birmingham, Alabama, and local companies. Atlanta, Georgia.

Datiphy www.datiphy.com Engagio eSUB Construction Software Ted Ho www.engagio.com www.esub.com Security Jon Miller Wendy Rogers California Software California Software » Datiphy assigns a risk score to every piece California of sensitive data within an organization. The » Engagio provides account-based company’s Adaptive Data Behavioral Model marketing solutions that help marketers » eSUB provides cloud-based project provides risk assessments by analyzing and their companies land the big accounts. management and document control database transactions. The enterprise level The company is backed by leading venture software for subcontractors in the platform also uses behavioral analytics, investors and is headquartered in San construction industry. The San Diego- and auditing and protection capabilities to Mateo, California. Engagio’s marketing headquartered company is built on 30-plus mitigate risk. The company was founded in orchestration software allows B2Byears of experience in the industry, and 2015 in San Jose, California. marketers to measure and create customer offers a software-as-a-service solution that engagement, scaling the benefits of helps contractors increase standardization, automation. accountability and productivity. Digital Guardian digitalguardian.com enSilo Ken Levine www.ensilo.com Security Roy Katmor Massachusetts Security » Digital Guardian is a data protection California platform that works to stop data theft. The company has been operating for more than » EnSilo’s complete endpoint security 10 years, and its platform works across platform provides pre and post-infection corporate networks, traditional endpoints, protection in real time. It defends endpoint mobile devices, and cloud applications. devices from data tampering and breaches It offers an on premise deployment or an caused by malware. The company was outsourced managed security program. founded in 2014 and is headquartered in San Francisco. www.REDHERRING.com 51 Top 100 Companies: North America

FixStream Fundrise Green Cloud www.fixstream.com www.fundrise.com Technologies Sameer Padhye Benjamin Miller www.gogreencloud.com Software Venture Capital/Investing Keith Coker California Washington DC Cloud Computing South Carolina » FixStream provides analytics and » Fundrise was founded with a simple visualization of business transactions, idea: to give everyone the chance to » Green Cloud offers a portfolio of virtual correlated with application services and invest directly in high quality real estate, server, backup, and recovery solutions infrastructure in hybrid IT. The company’s without the need for middlemen. Despite with the goal of defining the future of data customers have deployed the FixStream being told it wasn’t possible by some, the protection. The company was founded solution to proactively plan and manage company did just that. The company now seven years ago by telecoms veterans and their digital services, and much more, boasts more than 80,000 members and helps its channel partners bring customers including optimizing IT resources, has invested in nearly $3 billion worth of to the cloud. reducing infrastructure cost, and reducing real estate. Fundrise describes the idea as business risks. simple yet powerful, and it’s hard to argue. GridGain Systems www.gridgain.com Flo (formerly OWHealth) Nikita Ivanov www.flo.health/ Grabit Data Visualization Max Scrobov www.grabitinc.com California Mobile Greg Miller Other California » GridGain Systems offers an in-memory California computing platform built on Apache » Flo is an AI-powered women’s health Ignite. The company’s solutions are used platform, that offers accurate cycle » Grabit is revolutionizing manufacturing by enterprises in financial, software, predictions, personalized daily health and warehouse logistics with its robotic ecommerce, retail, healthcare, telecoms insights, and a closed community of and machine learning solutions, which and other major sectors. It boasts a strong experts and peers. The Redwood City, leverage electroadhesion technology. client list, from Barclays to Huawei to ING. California-based company claims to be Electroadhesion essentially lverages the the first period tracker to use artificial same static cling that makes a balloon stick intelligence, and has been at the number to someone’s hair and uses it to handle one spot for the Health & Fitness category materials. The company’s investors include in the U.S. App Store. the likes of Formation 8, Draper Nexus, Igneous Systems Nike, Samsung and more. www.igneous.io Kiran Bhageshpur Computer Software Washington

» Seattle-based Igneous Systems designed the first secondary storage to handle massive file systems effortlessly. The company holds 12 patents in the United States and its early technical team drew on talent from EMC, Isilon Systems and NetApp. Igneous is led by CEO Kiran Bhageshpur.

52 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: North America

Innovium Insticator Kinnek www.innovium.com www.insticator.com www.kinnek.com Rajiv Khemani Zackary Dugow Karthik Sridharan Hardware Internet/Online Procurement, B2B California New York New York

» Innovium provides high performance » Insticator increased engagement and » Kinnek is a marketplace for small switching silicon solutions for data centers. advertising revenue for publishing through businesses to engage with suppliers, and The company’s products have unmatched interactive content. The company was manage their purchasing. The company power efficiency, radix, programmability, founded in 2012 and reaches more than was founded in 2012 in New York and has buffers and low latency. Innovium is 350 million visitors every month across been backed by Thrive Capital and Matrix headquartered in Silicon Valley and is its network of publishing partners, which Partners. Small businesses are able to use backed by the likes of Greylock Partners, includes Warner Bros., Tribune Media, the platform to connect with suppliers, get Qualcomm Ventures, and Redline Capital. CBS Interactive, and Ancestry.com. On customized quotes, evaluate the quotes, average, Insticator increased revenue and and negotiate with suppliers. engagement by over 44 percent.

InSilixa Koble www.insilixa.com IntelliVision www.koble.com Arjang Hassibi www.intelli-vision.com Fabrice Saporito Life Sciences/Biotech Vaidhi Nathan Internet/Online California Software Massachusetts California » InSilixa aims to democratize and drive » Koble makes it easier for companies to down the cost of molecular diagnostics » IntelliVision is a leader in AI and deep find their next supplier or customer. The by leveraging its CMOS biochip learning-based video analytics software company’s platform launched in 2016 and technology. The company, founded in for smart cameras. The company provides has already attracted thousands of new 2012, is developing point of care and video analytics solutions for several users. Koble’s customers use the platform near patient platforms to deliver low cost, markets, including Smart Security, to form new relationships and get their high performance, solutions for DNA Smart Home, Smart City, and more. The business done smarter. and protein-based diagnostic testing. The company’s products are used by Fortune team has developed this technology for 500 companies, the US government and more than a decade, and has partnerships many leading brands. It is headquartered with the largest silicon foundries and in San Jose, California and has offices in semiconductor packaging firms in the Asia and Europe. world.

www.REDHERRING.com 53 Top 100 Companies: North America

Lacework LifeAssist Maria Shireen www.lacework.com www.lat.care mariashireen.com Jack Kudale Val Ornoy Shireen Thor Software Cloud Computing Internet/Online California California California

» Lacework provides a zero-touch, » LifeAssist is a cloud-based solution that » Maria Shireen combines the function of cloud workload security platform that offers private networks that empower elastic hair ties with the appeal of a bracelet. offers breach detection, insider threat families, patients, caregivers, and health The company’s products were created by management, workload insights, and professionals to communicate in real time. Arni and Shireen Thor, and are designed to investigation analysis. The company’s The company’s main offering are Dynamic create a unique piece of jewelry that keeps main offering is Polygraphs, which was Care Circles, which can include health easy-to-lose hair ties on lock and easily at created from nearly two decades of data, medication information, care plans hand. The slip on bracelets have a channel development and testing. Lacework is able and notes and documentation. They are that hold bands in place, and are available to automatically discover the workloads essentially personalized information hubs in a variety of designs. of customers, their applications and users, for people in care, and can be integrated and interaction by creating Polygraphs with and complement electronic health for them. Lacework is based in Mountain records. View, California. Metamaterial Technologies www.metamaterial.com MapD George Palikaras Lastline www.omnisci.com Clean Tech www.lastline.com Todd Mostak Canada Christopher Kruegel Big Data/Storage Clean Tech California » Metamaterial Technologies is a photonics California and smart materials company that is » MapD aims to redefine the limits of changing the way we use and interact with » Lastline protects companies from scale and speed in big data analytics. light. The company is pioneering a new advanced persistent threats, targeted The company’s solution incorporates class of materials, called metamaterials, attacks, and evasive malware. The extremely fast data querying but also which have properties that go beyond company’s advanced malware protection focuses on empowering people to visually what is found naturally. MTI has 24 provides the visibility and context explore data at the speed of thought. The patent families and 17 granted patents. required for a rapid response to malicious company was founded by Todd Mostak The company was originally established in activity, lowering the chances of damage when he realized it was taking him hours London, England in 2010, but moved its and costly data breaches. The company to get answer to his queries from a data set head office to Halifax Nova Scotia. is headquartered in Redwood City, of millions of tweets on Twitter. California and also has offices in Europe and Asia.

54 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: North America

Mimosa Networks Mojo Networks NetNumber www.mimosa.co www.www.mojonetworks.com www.netnumber.com Jaime Fink Rick Wilmer Brad Boston Telecommunications Cloud Computing Software California California Massachusetts

» Mimosa Networks offers wireless » Mojo is attempting to shake up the » NetNumber delivers innovative signaling broadband solutions, that enable service enterprise WiFi industry. The company control solutions that enable carriers to providers to connect dense urban and offers a cloud-managed WiFi solution, accelerate the implementation of news remote rural homes at a fraction of the with the vision of creating networks that services across networks. The company’s cost of fiber. The company’s technology high performance, security, scalability, and solutions also dramatically simplify the allows for great efficiency, enabling sparse ease-of-use. Mojo was founded in 2003 core network and reduce operating costs. spectrum to be shared across an entire and is headquartered in Mountain View, NetNumber claims to be the leading network. Mimosa was founded in 2012 California. provider of Centralized Signaling and and the VC funded company’s services are Routing Control solutions on which deployed in over 130 countries. additional services, including number portability data and global code range data, Motionloft can be added. www.motionloft.com MiNDERA Joyce Reitman www.mindera.com Cloud Computing NGCodec Philippe Nore California www.ngcodec.com Life Sciences/Biotech Oliver Gunasekara California » Motionloft captures the movement of Cloud Computing people and vehicles with its end-to-end » MiNDERA is developing non-invasive, solution used indoors and outdoors. The California high precision genomic tools for skin company then turns the data into usable diseases. The company has produced a information. Motionloft’s solution is » NGCodec has been pursuing the next minimally invasive micro-needle device installed in over 1,500 locations and uses generation of video compression since that extracts the whole transcriptome from advanced hardware and software to deliver 2012. The company includes the like the skin of a patient, meaning there’s no real time actionable insights through a Xilinx among its investors and has created need for clinical researchers to source skin dashboard. RealityCodec, a compressor-decompressor biopsies. MiNDERA has already attracted technology optimized for ultra-low latency, the interest of large potential customers high quality applications. NGCodec is and has signed collaborations with global headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. pharma and skin care leaders.

www.REDHERRING.com 55 Top 100 Companies: North America

NoviFlow NSS Labs Onapsis www.noviflow.com www.nsslabs.com www.onapsis.com Dominique Jodoin Vikram Phatak Mariano Nunez Telecommunications Security Security Canada Texas Massachusetts

» NoviFlow provides open standard- » The mission of NSS Labs is to advance » Onapsis cybersecurity solutions based high performance SDN networking transparency and accountability within automate the monitoring and protection solutions to network carries, enterprises the cybersecurity industry. The company of SAP applications. The company is and data center operators. The company’s has used its foundation in security testing, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, solutions offer greater performance, extensive research, and global threat and serves over 200 customers, including flexibility, cost-efficiency, and security. analysis capabilities for the basis of the many of the Global 2000. Onapsis NoviFlow has officers in Montreal, NSS Labs’ Cloud Platform for Continuous solutions are used by consulting and audit Canada, Boston, Sunnyvale and Seattle, Security Validation. This cloud platform firms like Accenture, Deloitte, E&Y, IBM, and a network of authorized distributors gives enterprises objective, empirical data, KPMG, and PwC to protect the essential in Asia, Europe, and South America. and allows them visibility, insights and information and processes that run their to rationalize their investments in cyber businesses. programs. Nozomi Networks www.nozominetworks.com One, Inc. Numerix Edgard Capdevielle www.oneincsystems.com www.numerix.com Security Chris Ewing Steve O’Hanlon California Software Software California » Nozomi Networks offers an Industrial New York Control System platform that delivers » One, Inc. provides a cloud-based platform real-time cyber security and operational » Numerix provides innovative capital designed to transform the way insurance visibility. The company has used machine markets technology solutions and real companies interact with their customers. learning and artificial intelligence to meet time intelligence capabilities for trading The company’s technology combines core the challenges of critical infrastructure and risk management. The company is insurance software functions such as policy operations since it was founded in 2013. driving a more open, fintech-oriented administration, rating, and billing, with Nozomi is headquartered in San Francisco, digital financial services market. Numerix CRM, payment processing, data analytics, California and delivers both cyber security is built on more than 20 years of analytical and agency management. This offering and process anomaly detection. foundation of deep practical knowledge allows insurance companies to modernize and understanding, and helps its users their operations and offer better solutions reimagine operations, modernize business and services to their customers. processes and capture profitability.

56 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: North America

OpsPanda Parsable PenBlade www.xactlycorp.com www.parsable.com www.penblade.com Jon Kondo Yan-David Erlich Branden Rosenhan Cloud Computing Cloud Computing Medical Devices California California Utah

» OpsPanda offers a sales resource and » Parsable provides an Industry 4.0 » PenBlade is the maker of the PenBlade capacity planning application that helps Connected Worker platform to allow Safety Scalpel, used by healthcare sales leaders build hiring and capacity employees to collaborate together in companies all over the world. The pen-like plans, analyze sales performance, and set paperless, mobile, and digital business activation of the scalpel allows clinicians sales quotas to optimize sales capacity processes. The company’s customers to expose and retract the blade without and reach booking targets. The company include Schlumberger, Scientific Drilling, looking or repositioning, allowing them to is based in Palo Alto, California, and Unilever, and other leaders in consumer maintain focus on the patient with the goal was founded in 2014 by veterans of the packaged goods, manufacturing and to reduce injuries and improve outcomes. corporate performance management energy industries. Parsable was founded by The PenBlade is not just popular among software industry. veterans of Google, SAP, Oracle, Microsoft, the healthcare industry - it’s increasingly and others. The firm is headquartered in being used in the craft and hobby market. San Francisco and has offices in Austin and The company was founded in 2013. Vancouver. OWHealth www.owhealth.com PeopleDoc Max Scrobov Payoneer www.people-doc.com Mobile Jonathan Benhamou www.payoneer.com California Cloud Computing Scott Galit New York Banking/M&A » OWHealth is a digital health company New York that develops solutions for young women » PeopleDoc is aiming to make the job of HR to improve their health and get ready easier. The company’s HR Service Delivery » for pregnancy. The company’s offerings Payoneer connects businesses, platform helps HR teams answer employee combine intuitive design, science and professionals, countries, and currencies requests on demand, automate employee modern technologies to turn a regular with cross-border its payments platform. processes and manage compliance across mobile app into a personal women’s health The company enables million of businesses multiple locations. The PeopleDoc cloud assistant. and professionals from more than solutions include case management and 200 countries reach new audiences by knowledge portal, process automation, making seamless cross-border payments employee file management, and advanced a possibility. Companies like Amazon, analytics. Google, Airbnb and Getty Images use Payoneer’s mass payout services.

www.REDHERRING.com 57 Top 100 Companies: North America

Plutora Quali Razorthink www.plutora.com www.quali.com www.razorthink.com Sean Hamawi Lior Koriat Jack Porter Software Cloud Computing Big Data/Storage California California California

» Plutora offers release test environment » Quali is a provider of enterprise » Razorthink offers artificial intelligence and test management solutions for sandbox software for cloud and DevOps data science for the enterprise and has enterprise IT. The company, headquartered automation, delivering environments-as- created the first AI data scientist, Big in Santa Clara, California, provides a-service for digitization use cases. The Brain. Big Brain is a deep learning AI predictability in the software release company gives development and testing that improves predictive customer insight process, with a single view of releases and teams, sales and support professionals, beyond what is possible with human associated metrics, such as testing quality. and architects access to on-demand, self- data scientists. The company’s customers This improves the speed and frequency service replicas of complex production include industry leaders across the globe of releases, and aligns IT software environments that can work on private, within banking and telecommunications. development and business strategy. public, and hybrid cloud deployments. Founded in 2011, Razorthink is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Quri Prevedere www.quri.com www.prevedere.com Justin Behar Returnly Technologies Rich Wagner Other www.returnly.com IT California Eduardo Vilar Ohio Internet/Online » Quri provides Performance Driven » California Prevedere offers industry insights and Merchandising, which transforms the in- predictive analytics. The company helps store experience by continuous, real-time, » business leaders make better decisions visibility into merchandising conditions Returnly is a fintech platform that lets by providing a real-time view of their across all major channels and retailers merchants offer shoppers a seamless company’s future. Prevedere’s external in the US market. The company counts product returns experience. Shoppers get real-time insights engine monitor’s the KraftHeinz, Heineken, Red Bull, and an Instant Refund, that they can use to world’s activity constantly, identifying Johnson & Johnson among it’s clients, buy again at the same store immediately. future threats or opportunities to business and helps optimize the $4 trillion spent Returnly guarantees all purchases made performance. annually on retail go-to-market and in with their Instant Refunds, and settles store merchandising. transaction in real-time, taking on the return and customer risk so merchants don’t lose out.

58 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: North America

RideCell Seal Software Sepio Systems www.ridecell.com www.seal-software.com www.sepio.systems Aarjav Trivedi Ulf Zetterberg Yossi Applebaum Cloud Computing Software Security California California Maryland

» Ridecell aims to empower new mobility » Seal Software provides contract discovery, » Sepio Systems helps secure organizations operators, including car rental companies, data extraction and analytics. The against attacks via rogue hardware devices. auto clubs, cities, transit agencies, dealer company’s machine learning and natural The company protects against the strategic groups, private fleets and OEMs, to launch, language processing technologies allow cyber weapon technology that is in the expand, and maximize the utilization its clients to find contracts of any file type hands of criminal organizations, helping of their own ridesharing and carsharing across their networks, understand what enterprises that never suspect the devices services. The company is headquartered in risks and opportunities are hidden in them, they use could have been compromised. San Francisco and provides an intelligent and place them in a centralized repository. The company is headquartered in software platform that runs new mobility Seal is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Maryland and has offices in New York and services. South Carolina, and R&D in Tel Aviv.

RiskIQ Seceon SignalFx www.riskiq.com www.seceon.com www.signalfx.com Lou Manousos Chandra Pandey Karthik Rau Security Security Software California Massachusetts California

» RiskIQ offers digital threat management, » Seceon helps enterprise companies to » SignalFx offers monitoring and providing discovery, intelligence and detect and stop recognized and never- operational intelligence for the cloud mitigation of threats associated with the before-seen threats when they happen. The company collects and monitors digital presence of an organization. The The company uses intelligent data metrics across every component in the company allows enterprises to gain unified collection and analysis in its Open Threat cloud, and maximizes the productivity insight and control over web, social, and Management platform to provide visibility of cloud operations teams and ensures mobile exposures. RiskIQ is based in across the entire network, from users and organizations deliver on the business San Francisco and is backed by Summit devices to applications and flows, surfacing promise of digital transformation. SignalFx Partners, Battery Ventures, Georgian the most relevant threats in real time, and is used by Fortune 500 enterprises across partners, and MassMutual Ventures. the means to eliminate them immediately. multiple industries. The company is backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Charles River Ventures.

www.REDHERRING.com 59 Top 100 Companies: North America

Signifyd Sonendo SPLT www.signifyd.com www.sonendo.com www.splt.io Rajesh Ramanand Bjarne Bergheim Anya Babbitt Internet/Online Medical Devices Clean Tech California California Michigan

» Signifyd provides guaranteed fraud » Sonendo develops disruptive » SPLT leverages urban technology to protection, enabling online retailers to technologies to transform dentistry. The reduce inefficiencies in transportation, by offer a friction-free buying experience company’s first commercially available partnering with corporations, universities, for their customers. The company uses product is the GentleWave System, is and municipalities to provide sustainable big data, machine learning, and domain available in the US and shows considerable commute solutions. The company has expertise to provide financial guarantee improvements in clinical efficacy and a presence in Austin, Chicago, Detroit, against fraud on approved orders that later treatment efficiency when compared to Germany, London, New York, San turn out to be fraudulent. This shifts the standard root canals. Sonendo is privately Francisco and others, but aims to bring liability for fraud away from retailers. The held and venture-backed. its accessible and reliable mobility company is headquartered in San Jose, everywhere. California. SparkCognition www.sparkcognition.com StemoniX Skuid Amir Husain www.stemonix.com www.skuid.com Software Ping Yeh Ken McElrath Texas Life Sciences/Biotech Cloud Computing Minnesota Tennessee » SparkCognition offers AI-powered business-critical solutions for customers » StemoniX is working to transform the » Skuid’s cloud front-end design-and- in energy, oil and gas, manufacturing, way medicine is discovered. The company deploy platform lets anyone connect to finance, aerospace, defense, and security. uses skin or blood to create functioning disparate data sources, assemble highly The company develops artificially microHearts and microBrains, making complex, made-to-order applications, intelligent cyber physical software it possible to test medication on humans and instantly make changes - all without for the safety, security, reliability and without it ever entering their bodies. This writing any code. The company was optimization of IT, OT, and the industrial will speed up the search for new cures and founded in 2013 and has more than 5 IOT. SparkCognition is headquartered in enable doctors to test drug effectiveness on million users across 32 countries, each Austin, Texas. an individual person, so medicine works of whom are able to interact with data in correctly the first time. more meaningful ways.

60 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: North America

Switchmate Home ThoughtSpot TurnKey Vacation Rentals www.buyswitchmate.com www.thoughtspot.com www.turnkeyvr.com Dean Finnegan Ajeet Singh T.J. Clark Consumer Electronics Software Professional Services California California Texas

» Switchmate Home LLC is dedicated to » ThoughtSpot is an intelligence platform » TurnKey Vacation Rentals, Inc. allows providing home automation products that that provides individuals with the tools users to market and manage premier rental have the ability to be installed in seconds. to explore, analyze, and share business homes in the US. The company ensures that The company’s smart lighting is only one analytics. ThoughtSpot’s customers include every property has the same value, high- of the products it has developed in the Amway, Bed Bath and Beyond, BT, Capital end experience, and authenticity of a true last year. Founded in 2016 by Stanford One, Celebrity Cruises, Chevron Federal fine hotel. Founded in 2012, the company graduates, the company was established to Credit Union, De Beers, Insurethebox and has been unmatched in their consistency allow simple set up for lighting. Scotiabank. The company was co-founded and value with travelers. in 2012 by its CEO Ajeet Singh and six other technical co-founders from Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle. TARA Biosystems Tyromer Inc. www.tarabiosystems.com www.tyromer.com Misti Ushio TidalScale, Inc. Sam Visaisouk Life Sciences/Biotech Clean Tech www.tidalscale.com New York Canada Gary Smerdon Software » TARA Biosystems provides predictive » Tyromer Inc. was established to human cardiac tissue models. The California commercialize a rubber devulcanization companies model is to offer a high-fidelity technology. The company was founded in solution in relation to their dedication » TidalScale is a developer of scale-up Canada, by Professor Costas Tzoganakis of to pioneering models that enable more compute and resource architecture. The the Department of Chemical Engineering reliable, faster, and safer development company allows customers to solve big at the University of Waterloo. Tyromer of new medicines. Founded in 2014 data exploration and real-time analytics to aims to use scrap rubber ties and repurpose the company is continuing to grow and ensure a coherent compute instance. them with the devulcanization technology. expand.

Trade Ideas LLC Tenor www.trade-ideas.com www.tenor.com Daniel Mirkin David McIntosh Software Mobile California California » Trade Ideas LLC was established to watch » Tenor allows for emotional content to every single stock in the market that a be added to digital conversations with customer has, ensuring that a customer is personalized GIF keyboards. The company notified every time unusual activity occurs. partners with apps such as iMessage, Started by former venture capitalists, the Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Twitter, company strives to do what no human Google Gboard, and Kik. Also known as can do, watch thousands of stocks a day. Riffsy, the company was founded in 2014. Founded in 2002, the founders work closely with active traders, hedge funds, and professional traders to continually update their software.

www.REDHERRING.com 61 Top 100 Companies: North America

vArmour VoteBash Wylei www.varmour.com www.votebash.com www.wylei.com Tim Eades Martijn Atell Meg Columbia Walsh Security AdTech Marketing/Advertising/SOE California Delaware New Jersey

» vArmour deals offers data defined » VoteBash is a free social voting site, » Wylei is an innovator in the cloud- perimeter security. By establishing greater where people are able to vote to express based machine learning and marketing visibility and control of a customer’s their interest in different categories, and automation space. The company is data, the company can move beyond are rewarded with buttons. The company powered by minds from Harvard, MIT, the traditional perimeter and secure aims to give survey results that are not just Stanford, and CMU. Wylei uses automated data. vArmour is founded by security about the numbers, but also the individual intelligence that adapts to every customer and technology experts from Juniper, who voted. Votebash was founded in 2011. to ensure the cookie-cutter feel of direct Netscreen, RSA and Silvertail. The firm marketing is a thing of the past. The was founded in 2011 and is backed by company describes itself as a pioneer of investors including Highland Capital predictive content, digital content that Partners, Menlo Ventures, Columbus automatically assembles in real time. Nova Technology Partners, Work-Bench Wearsafe Labs Ventures, Allegis Capital, Redline Capital, www.wearsafe.com Yandy.com and Telstra. David Benoit www.yandy.com Other Thom Brodeur Connecticut Other Versa Networks Arizona www.versa-networks.com » Wearsafe aims to allows users to protect Kelly Ahuja themselves using their personal devices. » Yandy is a retailer of specialty apparel The company’s technology unlocks a Computer Networking for women. The company strives to be modern panic button to allow users, the authority on what makes women of California and their loved ones, peace of mind. The all backgrounds, shapes and sizes feel solution gives everyone the ability to confident and sexy. Yandy developed one of » Versa is unique among software-defined connect instantly and get help in real time. the first scalable, proprietary e-commerce networking vendors because it provides an sites in the apparel category before do-it- end-to-end solution that both simplifies yourself platforms like Shopify existed. and secures the WAN/branch office network. The company was founded by industry veterans, and is backed by venture investors Sequoia, Mayfield, and Verizon Ventures.

62 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Top 100 Companies: North America

Zadara Storage Zentera Systems, Inc. ZeroFOX www.zadara.com www.zentera.net www.zerofox.com Nelson Nahum Jaushin Lee James Foster IT Security Security California California Maryland

» Zadara Storage offers enterprise storage- » Zentera Systems, Inc., is the leading » ZeroFOX protects and serves as-a-service through its Zadara Storage vendor of enclave-based security and organizations to ensure that risks Cloud offering. The solution can be connectivity for the multicloud. Zentera introduced by social networking and deployed at any location, support any secures application workloads by digital communication platforms are a non data type, and connect to any protocol. connecting them through a virtual overlay issue. The company continuously monitors Zadara Storage ranked #81 on Deloitte’s network. Zentera was named a Cool social platforms for any information loss or Technology Fast 500. Vendor in 2017. cyber attacks. Started in 2013, the company has since earned a multitude of awards including the Daily Record’s ‘Innovator of the Year’. Zaloni Zephyr Health www.zaloni.com zentera.net Ben Sharma Jaushin Lee ZINFI Technologies Big Data Security www.zinfi.com North Carolina California Sugata Sanyal Cloud Computing » Zaloni is a leading provider of data » Zephyr Health is the leading insight-as-a management solutions. It enables customers service company for harnessing global California to get competitive advantages through healthcare data to address critical business Hadoop data lakes. Serving the Fortune and patient needs. Started in 2011, the » ZINFI’s Technology enables customers 500, Zaloni has helped its customers build company continues to create new products to increase profitable revenue growth production implementations that solve the and services for global healthcare data. by placing a set of cloud based modules most complex big data analytic challenges. for partner recruitment, engagement, enablement and management that seamlessly work together by fitting into an existing infrastructure. The company works to ensure customers have increased growth and sustainable growth for their marketplaces.

www.REDHERRING.com 63 Feature Story

RepairPal: Perfectly Placed in the Ever-Changing Auto Industry

ars are changing. With every year This was the epiphany Art Shaw had when But if people are owning their cars for longer, we see a different innovation, he joined RepairPal in 2012. He saw great and are relying more heavily on servicing and from connected cars to self- potential in the company’s ability to make and maintenance, they are being pushed driving vehicles, there’s a massive sense of the vehicle repair industry, a further into a world that few understand, Cshift underway in the way the industry runs tangled web of car shops all over America and even fewer feel comfortable in. When underway. Because of this change, a number with widely varying levels of quality, trust, we visit the auto repair shop, most of us the of business models now look dated, and this and reputation. The company was started majority of people don’t understand half represents great opportunity to those smart in 2007, when its founder was concerned of the language that is being used; we just enough to take advantage. he was being ripped off when taking his car have to trust the opinion of a mechanic who in for repair. The first product RepairPal never really had to win that trust. “Two out One major change we’ve seen over the past offered was an estimator that told consumers of three people believe they’ve been ripped few decades is the lifespan of a car. The a fair price for different types of repair. That off fixing their car. It’s an uncomfortable whole of the auto industry is geared towards useful tool is still part of what RepairPal and unfortunate dynamic where people selling new cars, because they know that does today, but Shaw saw more potential. don’t know where to go. If your car breaks after a certain amount of time cars will down, the only language people have is break down often, become less efficient, and “In the last few years, people are waking up asking about cost; no one knows how to will need to be replaced. But in recent years to ownership and repair,” says Shaw. “Auto understand the quality of the repair being the quality of cars being made has become dealers used to make money selling new done, even though consumers rate quality dramatically higher, which means people cars, then from 2013 to 2015 they broke as most important,” says Shaw. are keeping their cars longer. The natural even. Now they’re losing money on new cars assumption, therefore, is that selling cars even including financing and insurance.” He So Shaw and RepairPal began trying to put will become more difficult, but keeping believes that the auto industry’s old model more trust into auto repair. That sounds like them running in the best shape possible will of making money from selling cars will a no-brainer, but is extremely difficult to be more important than ever. be replaced by a much larger emphasis on do. For a start, there’s no previous example servicing and maintenance. of a model to rank auto repair shops. “We

64 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Feature Story

went to San Francisco mechanics and said online offering, www.schwab.com. He also ‘Your daughter’s car broke down across the ran myCFO, which was sold to Harris Bank. country, where would you send her to repair it?’ And they didn’t know. They didn’t have a One larger concern for the auto industry is paradigm of what made a good shop, so we that young people will not want to own cars built that model.” in the future, as they move to on-demand services or even self-driving fleets. But RepairPal expanded its offering from the even this could play into RepairPal’s favor, estimator to include a nationwide network as these large fleets of on-demand vehicles of certified repair shops. To get into the will need to stay on the road as long as RepairPal Certified network, repair shops possible, and will need regular servicing and have to meet stringent criteria to ensure maintenance. For that, they’ll need to find customers can trust and rely on them. The the most trusted places to use, and a network shops are tested for tools, quality, training like RepairPal’s will be invaluable. and have to commit to honor the price guidelines set by the RepairPal estimator. RepairPal provides expert full service Equally important, they must have sky-high repair for most vehicles. From small to customer satisfaction scores from verified large repairs, know costs in advance customers. with the fair price estimator.

This approach has produced impressive Art Shaw, CEO at RepairPal, has vast results. RepairPal has grown dramatically, experience in growing businesses. While and now boasts a number of significant working for Charles Schwab, Shaw partnerships with heavyweights in the helped to launch www.schwab.com auto industry. These include Consumer which defined financial services online Reports, Castrol, Cars.com, and Bosch. At and grew to a $1 billion business. the end of last year the company announced a partnership with CarMax, one of the largest retailers of used cars in the U.S. “The RepairPal Certified network, combined with CarMax’s own nationwide staff of highly qualified technicians, ensures that our customers have timely options for all their service and repair needs,” Bill Nash, CarMax president and CEO said.

RepairPal initially struggled to attract VC investment, but did manage to strike strategic investment deals with some of its partners. Now that the nationwide platform is being offered to huge, high quality companies in the car business such as CarMax, investors are showing more interest. Shaw says the company is open to more investment, but doesn’t need it right now.

It’s no surprise that Shaw was drawn to the auto industry. Throughout his career he has proven to be skilled at bringing businesses online, and modernizing them for the digital age. After graduating from Stanford Business School, he spent several years at McKinsey before joining Charles Schwab to run the strategic planning group. In 1995 he switched roles at Schwab, helping to launch their

www.REDHERRING.com 65 Feature Story

Purple Pays: XM Cyber and the Importance of Security Automation

“The state of global cybersecurity is not faring well,” warns XM Cyber co-founder and CEO Noam Erez, “and the consensus is that it’s about to get worse.”

hat outlook might seem bad news for companies looking to make their data T watertight. It’s a goldmine for companies like XM Cyber, founded out of Israel’s formidable intelligence community, which are using ever more innovative ways to keep cybercriminals away from companies’ prized assets.

Yet despite the fact that the global cybersecurity market will grow to $224.48 bn by 2022, it is still difficult for startups in the space to flourish. “There has never been more interest in cybersecurity, and ever more start-ups and yet funding is still very difficult,” says Erez. “What’s more, good ideas are always copied.”

Thankfully for Erez and his experienced team, XM Cyber provides the first fully automated APT simulation XM Cyber has a very good idea indeed. For and remediation platform to continuously expose attack years companies have hired penetration testers, vectors, from breach point to any organizational critical and performed red team exercises, to simulate asset. This continuous loop of automated red teaming is cyberattacks. completed by ongoing and prioritized actionable remediation of organizations’ security gaps.”

66 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Feature Story

Red team automation was the next goal. But it “Ramping up quickly while still innovating Purple Pays: hasn’t quite been mastered. Firms have struggled drives business, provides value and garners the to function as an automated red team one-on- respect of people that either want to partner one, without affecting network availability and with the company or invest in the company,” he XM Cyber and the user experience. says. “Building up strategic partnerships quickly helps start ups gain traction and move up in the “This is a major hurdle that cyber companies business food chain.” have not succeeded to overcome to date,” says Importance of Security Automation Erez, who spent over 25 years working for the Coming from Israel, which has the most number Israeli state. Second co-founder Tamir Pardo is a of cybersecurity startups behind the US, hasn’t former Mossad Director, while the third is Boaz hurt XM Cyber’s prospects. “There is a culture of Gorodissky, is a longtime head of tech in the starting all over again and keep on going, which Israeli government. is crucial for the cultivation of a start-up scene,” says Erez. “My co-founders and I realized, the only way to prevent a cyberattack Above all, Erez hopes his company can help plug in a highly connected eco-system is a growing gap in the security market, that could precipitate a flood in attacks. There are currently to enter the mindset of a hacker and a million unfilled cybersecurity roles worldwide, identify in advance the attack vectors and that number could reach 1.5m by next year. hackers may use to compromise an organization’s critical assets,” Automation, and the development of a adds Erez. 360-degree purple team, gives XM Cyber the edge to succeed in that precarious environment. “We brought our expertise and unique approach to “I think systems that automate security and the table to develop to deliver a data-driven solution compensate for the skills gap could be a direction that could continuously assess critical assets at worth exploring,” says Erez. “The growing need risk,” he says. “Our solution provides a simple, and for automated security solutions is further fueled most importantly, prioritized actionable guidelines by next-generation hackers and their increasingly for resolving the pressing issues.” sophisticated tactics.

XM Cyber’s HaXM APT (advance persistent “Cyber-attackers, with a lot of resources at their threat) simulation provides the closest mindset to disposal are turning to improved tools that attackers pursuing vectors, considering the tools, automate attacks and exploit networks,” he adds. tactics and processes they use to reach companies’ “For organizations, already running thin on digital property. It comprises 24/7 attack and security resources, the unprecedented scale and defense – red and blue teams – to ensure a holistic sophistication of future hackers should be a major and exhaustive approach to security. concern.”

HaXM is, in the company’s words, the “first automated purple team”. Since its foundation just two years ago XM Cyber has won a series of awards, and interest from vendors and experts all over the world. It is success Erez pins to experience, innovation and trust – and that which he hopes helps his company scale fast.

Before co-founding XM Cyber, Noam Erez spent over 25 years with the Israeli Intelligence Community. Mr. Erez holds a BA in Economics from Tel Aviv University.

www.REDHERRING.com 67 Feature Story

HOW SHERPA IS “CAREFULLY” POSITIONING ITSELF at AI’s Predictive Crossroads

ew people know artificial intelligence those benefits will soon find their way to the As the market sits at its current crossroads, better than Xabi Uribe-Etxebarria. consumer market. For now though, he says, Uribe-Etxebarria adds, “I think the The Spanish entrepreneur has “the money is in the enterprise market.” biggest headline for 2018 will be about engineering degrees and diplomas the consolidation of the industry. Large Ffrom MIT, Harvard Business School and the Last March analyst Gartner name-checked companies will go for partnerships Universidad de Deusto in Bilbao, the largest Sherpa when announcing the vast potential with startups that give them important city in Spain’s Basque Country. He is even of personal assistance AI – a landscape that, capabilities and competitive advantage.” nearing a master’s degree in architecture, while its headlines are dominated by the is a mentor at Oxford University and has likes of Apple, Amazon and Microsoft, are Scale, therefore, is key – but moving too fast won numerous awards for his work in the ripe for clear-thinking firms to get ahead of is not. Sherpa is based in Redwood City, tech world. the curve. Sherpa, which is designed for cars, in the heart of Silicon Valley, and Bilbao, intelligent ear speakers, in-home speakers the biggest city of the Basque Country of Uribe-Etxebarria is also a proven company- and appliances, and wearables, is positioning Spain from where Uribe-Etxebarria comes. builder. He was studying for a natural itself well for a coming wave of connectivity. Its products are available in Spanish and language processing PhD in 2009 when English, opening huge potential markets he built his first firm, ANBOTO, a virtual Tractica, an analyst, predicts that the global worldwide. But, as Uribe-Etxebarria says, it assistant for chat and email responses. AI personal assistant market will swell is crucial to “think very carefully about what to $15.8bn by 2021. It is at an inflection you are doing, what you want to create, and But Uribe-Etxebarria wasn’t finished, and in point, Uribe-Etxebarria claims: a crossroads why you are creating it. 2012 founded Sherpa, a predictive, virtual between responsive and analytic solutions personal assistant based on AI algorithms. of the past, and predictive and autonomous “Building a world class company is very It has been preloaded on Samsung ones, the likes of which will enable true AI difficult and takes time,” he adds. You have smartphones since 2016, and is the most assistance and driverless vehicles. to stay focused on the big goals you want to widely used Spanish-language personal accomplish, work very hard, and constantly assistant apps in the world. It’s no surprise, then, that investors like learn how to do better.” As a man in his Mundi Ventures, headquartered in Madrid, thirties with more achievements under his Sherpa has won over $8 million dollars in London and Seattle, have been impressed belt than most can comprehend, it seems funding and has become one of the most enough to part with millions of dollars to unlikely that Xabi Uribe-Etxebarria is promising startups in the fast-emerging AI back Sherpa’s scale – and make connections somebody who will lose focus. That puts space. Little wonder Uribe-Etxebarria was with a range of partners. Sherpa on a good path to capitalize on AI: recently named among El País’ “Top 100 of one of tech’s wild frontiers. the Year” – a list honoring the most influential “The key to unlock that market is predictive people in the Spanish-American world. AI, so that these assistants can be more truly useful by anticipating user needs,” says Sitting aside such personalities as the King of the CEO. “That’s were we are focusing our Spain, Mexican premier Enrique Peña Nieto research and development efforts…Anything and Sofia Vergara, Red Herring was lucky process-oriented is a prime target for AI to catch moment with Uribe-Etxebarria this automation. The Sherpa platform could play month. But we did – and Uribe-Etxebarria a role in many of those apps, by providing an was keen to tell our reporter all about the API to access our predictive AI capabilities.” future of AI implementation, personal assistance, and how Sherpa is perfectly Xabi Uribe-Etxebarria, founder and CEO placed to spearhead one of tech’s newest of Sherpa, has been awarded a number revolutions. of prizes and honors, including neing “By harnessing the power of AI to act on featured on the TR35, an annual list big data, corporations can become more published by MIT Technology Review productive, reduce costs, and enter new naming the world’s top innovators markets,” says Uribe-Etxebarria, adding that under the age of 35.

68 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Feature Story

PLUTORA “Unwinds the Spaghetti” OF HIGHLY COMPLEX DEVOPS”

There’s a common misconception about banks, Dalibor Siroky says: that they’re old school. Despite what the Plutora is a market startup world might think about big financial institutions, leader in value he adds, in reality they’re “highly complex software stream management, companies that employ a lot of technology.” with release, test iroky should know. In 2012 the Capital invested $13.4 million into the environment and Australian entrepreneur, a former IBM Mountain View, Ca-headquartered team. consultant and soldier, left over a decade Since then Dalibor and Hamawi have been analytics solutions for Sin the financial sector to co-found Plutora, a busy hiring and scaling towards a global software firm that helps organizations increase market presence. enterprise IT. speed and efficiency across ever more complex tech systems. DevOps has often been labeled something of a dark art in the tech world. Arguments The idea for Plutora came from both men’s can range from the perfunctory to the experiences in banking. “We were tasked philosophical. Even when it comes to Their mission is to to either large-scale program delivery product DevOps, Siroky says, knowledge or mergers or de-mergers,” says Siroky. is “pretty fragmented and there’s a lack of enable predictable, “And as part of that you get to really consistent understanding.” unwind the spaghetti that is underneath high-quality enterprise the core facade that is a financial The multitude of workflows and software delivery institution.” applications driving such huge brands makes management incredibly difficult. across the entire Bootstrapped by Siroky and co-founder Millions of dollars are not difficult Sean Hamawi, Plutora now has over 60 to lose. That’s when Plutora comes in. release portfolio. employees on three continents serving 40 It helps firms plan, manage and track corporations – including several Fortune releases with transparency, efficiency 500 firms. In 2016 Sydney-based Macquarie and precision.

www.REDHERRING.com 69 Feature Story

In 2012 Siroky and Hamawi knew they That mission is being communicated to best is key. Ultimately Plutora’s biggest were hitting a huge pain point. They a sharply growing customer base. Little asset is its staff, he adds: “The people part had a business. So they put a date in the surprise when firms from eBay to AMP is not deterministic.” calendar, left their jobs and began building have been thrilled with the time and risk- a platform. “Five years later here we are,” slashing releases Plutora allows them to This month the company released an Siroky says. make. “I see Plutora as the glue that holds upgrade of its Plutora Environments the delivery process together,” says one solution, which helps streamline Bootstrapping a high-tech company, rather United Energy employee. test environment management that, than touring Silicon Valley and other according to a company survey, 40% locations for funding leaves founders with “To be competitive in the modern day of companies struggle with. Siroky has a mountain of challenges, Siroky says – not economy you need to double down on marked out pharmaceuticals, healthcare, least having to do everything from finance your technology, and in order to do that telecommunications and his former sector and HR to marketing personally. you need a platform like Plutora that drives banking, as the industries which most need that more efficiently,” says Siroky. “So his company’s help. But, he adds, “It gives you incredible focus, essentially we help organizations become because if you don’t get it right you don’t technology juggernauts. No-one else in our “Our early days were spent proving the survive the next minute. You’re extremely space is doing that.” technology,” he says. “Then distribution focused on execution. The second part is and getting referencability. Now it is about that it gives you is that you’ve got to get the Following Macquarie’s investment Plutora scaling the distribution and awareness of product-market fit right, because there’s no has grown over 100%. The majority of its the product. safety buffer…you’re always trying to find clients are based in North America, with that shortest path to revenue.” 20-25% based in Europe and the rest “Every day is solving a different piece of the in Asia-Pacific. It allows the company’s puzzle.” A third aspect, says Siroky, is that it gives founders to hire better and more quickly. founders “total control. You don’t have to answer to anybody else in terms of worrying That makes team coordination an there might be strategic directions that increasingly critical skill, says Siroky – and need to change. It’s just very, very clean and he is still keen to keep a close eye on all clear around the mission.” aspects of the business. But he claims that giving employees “freedom” to do their

Dalibor Siroky (left), the Australian entrepreneur, a former IBM consultant and soldier, left over a decade in the financial sector to co-found Plutora, a software firm that helps organizations increase speed and efficiency across ever more complex tech systems.

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VERSA NETWORKS PRESIDENT AND CEO KELLY AHUJA: FromInside anCompany acquisition: Man toMovea SD-WAN CEO Sam Guilaumé

hen Kelly Ahuja became president Ahuja has seen it all – not least as an 18-year “The multi-cloud transition is what’s W and CEO of SD-WAN firm Versa employee of Cisco, where he was last SVP of driving this whole market,” Ahuja tells Red Networks in 2016, he had worked the company’s service provider arm. Making Herring. “The remote office has now gone in the networking industry for 27 years, the leap from a $48bn revenue, 74,000-staff mobile, and those applications are not in having started his career at Telesat Canada tech giant to a high-tech upstart that had one place bur can be in multiple places.” in 1989. Back then the Berlin Wall still only been open since 2012 may not have VPNs were one de rigeur, he adds. Today, stood and the ability to communicate across been easy. But it has given Ahuja a chance to though, corporations run their networks borders wasn’t always assured. blend corporate management with startup on the Web. That places data in ever more agility. The results are clear to see. vulnerable spots. Today, almost three decades later, the landscape is almost unrecognizable. Since Versa’s foundation it has won $43.4m “The security is not an add-on,” adds Ahuja. Not only is the world more connected – in funding and hired 160 people while “You need multi layer security – all of and Berlin united – but networks are so becoming a key player in the SD-WAN and that visibility – to be able to secure across advanced that the cloud is almost SD-security markets. As more companies multiple layers.” ubiquitous. Hybrid clouds are the new streamline their digital transformation, frontier, piling value into a market set to be Ahuja and his team are on hand to make Thankfully for Versa, a drive to provide that worth $91.74 billion by 2021. sure things are secure. security comes directly from Ahuja. Even in

72 RED HERRING | SPECIAL EDITION Feature Story

“To be a strong leader you have to lay out a strong vision, have a Photo courtesy of www.coursehero.com strategy and an execution.”

boyhood his passion was networking: “My such firm is Capital One, whose hybrid curiosity even ran to how the telephone approach to SD-WAN deployment has led worked, and I worked for a service provider the finance pack. It chose Versa Networks in my summertimes at college (in Calgary, with which to work – a fact Ahuja credits to Canada)…There’s this bird in orbit you’ve his company’s “simplicity, speed and scale.” gotta point to. How does this work, and how can I get into it?” Other brands Versa works with include CenturyLink, Verizon, VergX and Comcast Telesat handed Ahuja his first role, before Business. They are enamored by Versa’s it was bought by AT&T. Then came three product, but also its client relations, which years at Stratacom in San Jose, CA, before Ahuja instills in each of his employees. he switched to Cisco – a company he still thinks is “great. “To be a strong leader you have to lay out a strong vision, have a strategy and “I feel like I was a teenager, I went in and an execution,” he says. Transparency, now I’m an adult,” says Ahuja. “But it’s a communication and a constant focus large company with much more process on the client are paramount. It goes for and rigor about how things happen.” employee relations too: “You can’t expect Joining Versa, the first thing Ahuja noticed respect, you have to give it. It’s important was the number of tasks he had. for everyone to be humble, grounded and respect everyone no matter who they are.” “At first we did anything and everything that happened,” he says. “You had to roll up your By energizing his clients and team Ahuja sleeves and do things.” When the company can focus on his other key strategy: Getting needed a shift there were no internal reviews Stuff Done. Fun and a good working and processes: it was simply done. “It’s balance are vital. But so is the ability to been a great adjustment for me because I’m execute constantly. With that in mind, and naturally high-strung,” he adds. “Normally I with a holistic approach to a new market wake up early and go to bed late. I’m never that is gathering pace, Versa Networks is idle. It’s been great for me to come back to a poised to pounce on timing in the market Software-defined smallish company environment.” to “drive a tremendous amount of growth.” That is handy in a market that never stops It is growth that will fuel what Ahuja predicts networking may pushing boundaries. Software-defined will be a “tremendous year” for Versa. “We networking may still be at an early stage have an expanding team, offices, location, still be at an early but it is being adopted quickly. The mass marketing: all functions are growing.” With market is coming. 2018, Ahuja says, “will Ahuja’s incredible knowledge of the market, stage but it is be a year of deployment and scale.” and different management styles, he is the perfect person to lead that charge. being adopted Large companies are beginning huge quickly. rollouts of this networking technology. One

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