Edison Partners invests $20M in cybersecurity company

A national survey released earlier this year by Iselin-based Provident Bank found that only half of small businesses were prepared for a cyberattack.  

Field Effect, an Ottawa-based global cybersecurity company, wants to level this digital playing field by offering its services to companies of all sizes, especially those in the small and medium enterprise (SME) market without “huge budgets and deep security expertise.” 

Princeton-based Edison Partners is helping Field Effect “accelerate” its market presence with a $20 million investment in the company, the growth equity firm announced Oct. 4. 

The lead investment is part of a $30 million round, joined by other strategic investors, who have contributed a combined $10 million. 

Top dollar

Edison Partners announced earlier this year the closing of a $450 million fund—the largest in the firm’s 36-year history. Click here to read more.

“Digital assets and infrastructure are at a critical juncture of vulnerability, and Field Effect is positioned for continued momentum with its SME cybersecurity offerings,” said Lenard Marcus, general partner of Edison Partners who led the investment and joined Field Effect’s board of directors. “We’re thrilled to partner with Field Effect in its efforts to accelerate and expand its market presence.”

Field Effect will use the funds to accelerate its sales and marketing, focusing on channel and brand; support product and service evolution; financial scaling; and further development of commercial operations, including e-commerce. 

Field Effect’s products include Covalence, which monitors, detects and responds in real-time to cyber threats, as well as Cyber Range, a cybersecurity training platform used to simulate and run realistic threat scenarios and courses for hands-on learning. 

Matt Holland, Field Effect co-founder and CEO, said his company was excited to work with Edison Partners to expand into new markets and evolve its products. 

Field Effect was advised by Dentons during the investment process. 

Edison Partners targets high-growth financial technology, health care IT and vertical SaaS and marketplace companies outside Silicon Valley with $10 million to $30 million in revenue. According to the company, it manages $1.6 billion in assets and its active portfolio has created aggregated market value exceeding $10 billion.