MESSAGEGATE, INC. SPINS OUT OF THE BOEING COMPANY TO PROVIDE ENTERPRISE MESSAGING SECURITY AND COMPLIANCE
Company launches with $5.1 million oversubscribed series A round of funding
Bellevue, WA – August 20, 2003 – MessageGate, Inc., a new provider of enterprise solutions for email security and compliance, today announced its formation as a private company following the spin out of its technology from The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA). The company launches with over $5.1 million from an oversubscribed series A round of funding led by Polaris Venture Partners, Northwest Venture Associates, and Boeing Ventures.
The technology behind MessageGate was incubated and the new company organized under the guidance of Polaris Venture Partners and Boeing Ventures, Boeing’s internal venture capital organization. The software is designed to effectively block unwanted email, ensure all valid business email is delivered, reduce the risk of non-compliance with government regulations and enforce corporate policies impacting electronic communications.
Enterprises face increasing challenges in blocking spam, securing email, adhering to corporate governance policies and complying with federal regulations on electronic communications. Insufficient email security and management puts corporate infrastructure and intellectual property at risk. Non-compliance with internal policies or federal regulatory requirements exposes corporations to substantial fines. According to Ferris Research, unwanted commercial email cost U.S. corporations $8.9 billion last year.
MessageGate’s first commercially available product is MessageGate Security Edition, which provides protection for enterprise email systems by filtering and securing inbound, outbound and internal email from unwanted, sensitive and potentially harmful content. The product installs at the corporate perimeter and dramatically reduces the volume of unwanted email entering the corporate network, improves email security and decreases the cost and support requirements of managing corporate email infrastructure. MessageGate’s solution easily handles millions of emails per day and scales to serve any size organization or message volume.
MessageGate is preparing for the commercial launch of its Compliance Edition and plans to deliver a family of enterprise solutions designed to help companies manage other messaging security issues.
MessageGate’s unique SCOPE™ system creates statistical content profiles of every inbound, outbound and internal email on the corporate network without relying on known spam signatures. The content profiles are combined with customizable filter categories and rules based on specific corporate policies. As a result, the system provides companies a clear understanding of email content and the ability to take appropriate action based on each message. MessageGate’s products easily integrate with existing infrastructure and automatically protect enterprises on a 24X7 basis with continuous content updates and alerts.
“The increasing volume of corporate email in the enterprise requires a solution that reduces the cost of ownership of email and decreases the risk from non-compliance with regulatory standards,” said David Weld, MessageGate’s president and chief executive officer. “With MessageGate Security Edition, we launched the first in a growing family of email security and management products specifically designed for the enterprise.”
“The formation of MessageGate is a significant achievement for Boeing because it is a concrete example of how we are fostering a culture of innovation and generating new business opportunities through the entrepreneurial ideas of our people,” said Miller Adams, vice president of Boeing Ventures and Boeing Phantom Works Technology Planning and Acquisition. “MessageGate is launching at a time when spam, email security and compliance are major issues for corporations. We believe this technology will prove to be an excellent solution for large enterprises dealing with these challenges.”
“The MessageGate system was designed to handle the high volume of email in large enterprises, while effectively blocking unwanted emails, securing intellectual property and managing corporate governance policies in real world, large-scale business environments,” said David Smukowski, Boeing Ventures senior director, who helped create the company and commercialize the technology.
“MessageGate’s proprietary technology has proven it can effectively block unwanted email and manage electronic communication in an enterprise environment, providing a substantial market for MessageGate’s products,” said Stephen D. Arnold, managing general partner at Polaris Venture Partners. “With an experienced management team, we believe the company is in a leadership position in the email security and compliance market.”
MessageGate launches with an experienced management team including David Weld, president and chief executive officer; Doug Turner, senior vice president of marketing and business development; Chad Rudolph, vice president of sales and Dean Richardson as vice president of technology. Richardson helped develop the technology behind MessageGate while at The Boeing Company. Additionally, MessageGate has appointed Mark Richardson as vice president of engineering and Karl Wiersholm as vice president of finance and administration.
Pricing and Availability
MessageGate’s enterprise email security solution is available immediately and pricing is determined by individual deployments. Please call 425-460-5060 or email sales@messagegate.com for more information.
About MessageGate, Inc.
MessageGate provides messaging security and compliance solutions for the enterprise. The original MessageGate technology was developed at The Boeing Company. MessageGate is funded and backed by Polaris Venture Partners, Northwest Venture Associates and Boeing. More information is available at messagegate.com.
About Polaris Venture Partners
With over $2 billion under management, Polaris Venture Partners is a partnership of experienced venture capital investors and technology executives who help entrepreneurs build market-leading companies in information technology and life sciences. Polaris-backed companies include: Advanced Inhalation Research (AIR(tm)); Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM); Allaire Corporation; Aspect Medical Systems (NASDAQ: ASPM); Centra Software (NASDAQ: CTRA); deCODE genetics (NASDAQ: DCGN). The company has offices in Boston and Seattle. More information about Polaris Venture Partners is available at polarisventures.com.
About Northwest Venture Associates
Northwest Venture Associates (NWVA) has $190 million under management and is the largest venture capital fund exclusively invested in Pacific Northwest-based companies. Committed to the fundamentals of smart investing -- people, independent ideas and diverse markets, NWVA has more than 15 years of experience investing in both start-up and mature businesses across several industries. NWVA leverages deep contacts, and regional and industry expertise to help portfolio companies develop sound business models, recruit key employees, identify strategic partners and arrange additional financing - all on the road to market leadership.
About Boeing Ventures
Founded in 1916, Boeing is the leading aerospace company in the world. As a major producer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft, it is a top U.S. exporter. The company holds more than 6,000 patents, and its capabilities and related services include formulation of system-of-systems solutions, advanced information and communications systems, financial services, homeland security, defense systems, missiles, rocket engines, launch systems and satellites. Within Boeing, Boeing Ventures acts as an internal venture capital fund, with the charter to build a culture of innovation and risk-taking through sponsorship of employee education and innovation activities. One aspect of Boeing Ventures is The Chairman’s Innovation Initiative, a program founded by Boeing Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Phil Condit in 2000, to help talented employees turn their innovative ideas into business proposals for Boeing Ventures funding consideration. More information is available at boeing.com.
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