Lookout, a San Francisco security app, has just taken in $150 million in new funding in a new round led by T. Rowe Price. Also joining in the round were Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos’ Bezos Expeditions. Previous investors have included such name-brand investors as Andreessen Horowitz, Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital Management, Accel Partners, Index Ventures and Khosla Ventures.
Lookout is a cloud-based security package that focuses on protecting mobile devices by blocking malicious websites and monitoring which other apps are using a consumer’s private information. In the U.S. Lookout has partnered with AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile to offer its service to their subscribers; globally they have also partnered with major telecoms in France, Britain and Germany.
The new injection of funds will go towards new products and expand its sales team with an eye toward breaing into the large business market. While the company has made some inroads with individual users and small business—Lookout sees a big opportunity with big business, particularly as more and more large operations move toward allowing employees to use their own devices.
The last round of funding from T. Rowe Price and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, two firms that serve wealthy individuals has left some analysts predicting that the increasingly mature Lookout company may be eyeing an IPO, reportsThe New York Times. Insofar as both T. Rowe and Morgan Stanley represent wealthy indviduals who tend to be longer term investors they are desirable as they are more likely to hold share than immediately invest in the wake of an IPO.
