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A new spinout from Seattle-based startup studio Madrona Venture Labs wants to help companies protect data flowing through their various cloud apps.
Simplata Technologies is led by co-founders Steve Banfield, CEO, and Bruce Roberts, CTO. Banfield previously led BMW ReachNow as CEO and was an executive at traffic data company INRIX. Roberts spent seven years as CTO at Domain Tools and has extensive cybersecurity experience. Both tech vets held entrepreneur-in-residence titles at MVL before heading up Simplata.
Reached via email this weekend, Banfield didn’t want to divulge much about the company, but said Simplata is “focused on a new approach to protecting sensitive data in cloud applications.” The idea was incubated inside MVL and born out of its focus on privacy and security.
“Unlike the last generation of data protection tools, Simplata does more than just generate logs and alerts,” its website notes. “Simplata’s targeted encryption protects sensitive data on detection. You always know your data isn’t vulnerable.”
The startup aims to protect data such as internal system passwords, API keys, corporate credit cards, and file names for confidential financial documents.
Simplata is hiring for two open roles and wants to raise a seed round later this year. Banfield said the COVID-19 crisis has not affected its growth plans.
“Seed funds still have money to deploy and our solution is resonating with businesses who are now collaborating entirely through the cloud,” he said. “Doing pitches to VCs over Zoom certainly isn’t what I’m used to, but it’s a new experience for the VCs too. We’re all figuring it out together. All our meetings and demos so far have gone great.”
The company’s first advisor is Pete Zaballos, the former CMO at Seattle startup Qumulo and Banfield’s old colleague at RealNetworks. “I couldn’t be more excited to have someone of Pete’s experience helping us chart a course for our startup,” Banfield said.
Simplata is one of a handful of new spinouts from MVL, the startup studio within Madrona Venture Group. Last week GeekWire reported on Zeitworks, a stealthy company led by Seattle startup veterans Ryan Windham and Ben Elowitz.
Formed by Madrona in 2014, MVL raised its third fund last year with plans to launch up to a dozen new startups.