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NTRU
CEO,
Scott Crenshaw
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The
Bold New Future
of E-Security
by Michael Stern
CEO, SCOTT CRENSHAW, doesn't hold back when discussing NTRU
(pronounced N-TRUE): "NTRU provides the most significant
innovation in the field of security technology in the last
20 years," he boldly proclaims. The Burlington based
startup, which recently snared a $26 million second round
of funding, is looking to make its mark in the world of
securing information technology. "We provide a technology
that can be embedded in any device, anywhere in the world-in
anything from cell phones to identity cards to airline tickets
to televisions and entertainment appliances," Crenshaw
states.
Founded
as NTRU Cryptosystems in 1996 by four Brown University
mathematicians, the outfit was primarily a research organization.
Crenshaw, who was the VP of Business Development at Massachusetts
based Datawatch, joined the company in July of 1999 in
order to help transform the academic group into a commercially
viable entity.
NTRU
is only a stones throw from the Bay State's leader in
computer security, RSA Systems. A nearly $300 million
company, RSA's e-security solutions are installed in millions
of applications.
Crenshaw,
however, is undaunted by RSA's entrenched industry position.
"RSA is a dinosaur in technology," he states
emphatically. "Their technology was developed 20
years ago and is primarily focused on old applications,
like logging onto an enterprise network. We're 2,000 times
faster than RSA. We can fit into 100th the footprint,
so we can go into any device."
One
of NTRU's customers, Texas Instruments, uses the company's
technology to secure its next-generation of wireless telephones.
Texas
Instruments is the dominant provider of chip technology
for wireless handsets, and NTRU allows Texas Instruments
to provide very rich multimedia services and mobile commerce
services, without causing the user any inconvenience.
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NTRU
Founded:
1996 by four Brown University mathematicians
and cryptographers.
HQ:
5 Burlington Woods
Burlington, MA 01803
Phone: 781-418-2500
Fax: 781-418-2532
Web
site:
www.ntru.com
Employees:
35 employees, five of whom are in Japan. NTRU
is not currently hiring.
Funding:
Received first round of more than $11 million
in April 10, 2000 from a team of investors led by Greylock
and Sony Corporation. Sony had invested in the company as
far back as 1998. On October 9, 2001, the company announced
it raised $26.1 million in Series B financing. Investor AB
led this round, with participation from Texas Instruments,
Sony, Greylock,
Macrovision, Lehman Brothers
Venture Capital, Granite Ventures and 3i. Total investment
to date exceeds $38 million.
Customers:
Texas Instruments and Sony. Also working with
several customers who have asked (due to competition issues)
that their names not be disclosed until product is actually
shipped.
Competitors:
"Our biggest competitor is no security
at all. Clearly RSA is a competitor, but only in the old-style
enterprise security market." Scott Crenshaw
Revenue:
Not disclosing revenue numbers, but NTRU receives
several million dollars up front for licensing its technology,
and receives additional royalties when products are shipped.
"Our sales cycle varies; it can be anywhere from six
months to two years-it's a very long sales cycle." Scott
Crenshaw
Vision:
"We're building this company for the long-term.
We believe the technology will become ubiquitous and that
the company will become an integral part of several key markets."
Scott Crenshaw
Management
Team:
Scott
Crenshaw
CEO
Elizabeth Robertson
CFO
Yoshihito Yusa
President (Japan)
Ed King
VP of Sales
Jim Kotanchik
VP of Engineering |
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