Eddie Chau’s mobile security startup V-Key raises USD 4M Series A from IPV Capital

V-Key, a mobile security startup founded by serial entrepreneur Eddie Chau, announced today that it has raised USD 4M in Series A funding from IPV Capital, an early-growth VC fund based in Beijing, Shanghai, and Silicon Valley.

The investment will be used to grow the company’s R&D capabilities and expand its global sales and support operations in the United States and Asia Pacific. It currently has offices in Singapore, China, and the US.

The startup’s solution suite has several key pieces: V-OS, V-Guard, V-Tap and V!VA Secure Communications. V-Guard acts as a mobile app firewall that enables mobile apps to process data and monetary transactions in a secure environment, while V-OS functions as a “secure sandbox” where cryptography and security-critical functions are performed.

V-Tap provides users with seamless advanced authentication for internet banking, social networking, and corporate servers, while V!VA Secure Communications is a Whatsapp-like instant messenger with a “secure briefcase” that lets users send confidential files.

Eddie Chau, chairman and co-founder of V-Key, said: “Demand for mobile app security, data and transaction assurance, and regulatory compliance products is growing faster than anyone has anticipated as organizations worldwide come to terms with the financial, legal, and business responsibilities for sensitive information and transaction data on the mobile devices.”

While relying on native mobile operation systems is a basic level start, Benjamin Mah, CEO and co-founder, believes that “the world needs an advanced security protection and mobile threat analytics to address advanced persistence threats in the mobile apps landscape.”

Terence Tan, Managing Partner at IPV Capital, added that the firm invested in V-Key believes it promises to “address critical security challenges in the enterprise mobility sphere. The growing use of mobile devices at the enterprise and consumer levels form a sizeable market opportunity for advanced mobile apps security solutions.”