Security certification provider TrustE has accepted a Series A investment from Accel Partners, ending its eleven-year run as a non-profit organization. The round of unspecified size follows roughly a year of evaluating strategic options at the board level, according to chief executive Fran Maier, who has led TrustE since 2001.
"We were looking to grow and expand, and the board decided that private capital is the only way for us," Maier said.
A separate non-profit agency will remain, but the new for-profit entity will take the TrustE name, according to Maier.
Founded in 2001 by the digital rights advocate Electronic Frontier Foundation and intermediary organization CommerceNet, TrustE provides certification seals that help consumers determine which Web sites offer trustworthy services and software that do not violate its set of privacy standards.
Maier said Accel's experience with privacy and consumer protocols, as well as its investment in social networking giant Facebook Inc., were important factors in selecting the firm. She said Accel took "a prominent position" in TrustE, although she would not disclose its valuation. TrustE collected about $6 million in fees during 2007, and anticipates mild growth this year, according to Maier.
TrustE is planning a technological and geographic expansion, with redoubled efforts on international growth in the Asia-Pacific and European regions. Certifications from industry organizations and private companies can be especially important in countries with few regulations, Maier said.
In addition, she said TrustE is planning to expand its offerings for small and medium-sized businesses, and will increase its focus on privacy concerns involving behavioral targeting and online health records.
Facebook itself has been subject to periodic privacy concerns. Some were raised last fall when Facebook launched its Beacon service, which collects user data from around the Web for advertising purposes. TrustE said it approved Facebook's modified version of Beacon in December. -- Paul Bonanos
See TrustE's corporate blog
See November 2007 story on Accel's $520M tenth fund from The Deal
See April 2006 story on Accel's investment in Facebook from The Deal
See December 2007 press release from TrustE and Facebook
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