When last we spoke to the folks at Secure64 Software Corp., they had just launched their attempt to create an operating system that would increase demand for Intel Corp.'s sometimes-maligned Itanium server microprocessor.
The startup, founded by former Hewlett-Packard Co. chief scientist and the lead designer of the architectures that led to the chip, has apparently made some progress in the intervening three years, announcing Wednesday a $3.7 million Series A round.
Secure64 did not reveal its investors, saying only its funding came from a consortium of private investors and institutions. A spokesman declined to offer further detail, saying only that no "conventional" VCs were involved. The funding came on top of about $2 million raised in 2004 from angels and the company's founders, a $2.2 million bridge loan in 2005 and an additional $3.3 million in funding in 2007.
The company's software claims to resist malware and network attacks while boosting performance and reliability of enterprise applications.
In general, sales of the Itanium chips haven't reached their potential because the servers they power use operating systems that aren't tuned to tap into the processor's inherent advantages. Because operating systems tend to eat up too much of Itanium's performance potential, servers using this processor today are only about 20% faster than rival servers. Secure64 was founded to try and bring out the Itanium's full potential. - Olaf de Senerpont Domis
See Sept. 3 press release on Secure64's funding from BusinessWire
See February 2005 Secure64 profile from TheDeal.com
For more, see VentureBeat
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