{"id":14649,"date":"2019-04-03T15:17:06","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T15:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rsoftsolution.com\/blog\/okta-unveils-50m-in-house-venture-capital-fund.html"},"modified":"2019-04-03T15:17:06","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T15:17:06","slug":"okta-unveils-50m-in-house-venture-capital-fund","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rbsitsoftwaresolution.in\/blog\/okta-unveils-50m-in-house-venture-capital-fund.html","title":{"rendered":"Okta unveils $50M in-house venture capital fund"},"content":{"rendered":"

Identity management software provider Okta, <\/a> which went public two years ago<\/a> in what was one of the first pure-cloud subscription-based company IPOs, wants to fund the next generation of identity, security and privacy startups.<\/p>\n

At its big customer conference Oktane, <\/a> where the company has also announced a new level of identity protection at the server level<\/a>, chief operating officer Frederic Kerrest (pictured above, right, with chief executive officer Todd McKinnon) will unveil a $50 million investment fund meant to back early-stage startups leveraging artificial intelligence, machine learning and blockchain technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe view this as a natural extension of what we are doing today,\u201d Okta senior vice president Monty Gray told TechCrunch. Gray was hired last year to oversee corporate development, i.e. beef up Okta\u2019s MA strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gray and Kerrest tell TechCrunch that Okta Ventures will invest capital in existing Okta partners, as well as other companies in the burgeoning identity management ecosystem. The team managing the fund will look to Okta\u2019s former backers, Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz and Greylock, for support in the deal sourcing process.<\/p>\n

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Okta to acquire workflow automation startup Azuqua for $52.5M<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Okta Ventures will write checks sized between $250,000 and $2 million to eight to 10 early-stage businesses per year.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a way of making sure we are aligning all our work and support with the right companies who have the right vision and values because there\u2019s a lot of noise around identity, ML and AI,\u201d Kerrest said. \u201cIt\u2019s about formalizing the support strategy we\u2019ve had for years and making sure people are clear of the fact we are helping these organizations build because it\u2019s helpful to our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Okta Ventures\u2019 first bet is Trusted Key<\/a>, a blockchain-based digital identity platform that previously raised $3 million from Founders Co-Op. Okta\u2019s investment in the startup, founded by former Microsoft, Oracle and Symantec executives, represents its expanding interest\u00a0in the blockchain.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlockchain as a backdrop for identity is cutting edge if not bleeding edge,\u201d Gray said.<\/p>\n

Okta, founded in 2009, had raised precisely $231 million from Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock, Khosla Ventures, Floodgate and others prior to its exit. The company\u2019s stock has fared well since its IPO, <\/a>debuting at $17 per share in 2017 and climbing to more than $85 apiece with a market cap of $9.6 billion as of Tuesday closing.<\/p>\n

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Okta brings identity management to server level<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Article source: http:\/\/feedproxy.google.com\/~r\/techcrunchIt\/~3\/qLyUExR877E\/<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Identity management software provider Okta, which went public two years ago in what was one of the first pure-cloud subscription-based company IPOs, wants to fund the next generation of identity, <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[19],"tags":[25],"class_list":["post-14649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-enterprise-software","tag-enterprise"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t