Armilar invests EUR 0.5 millions in Vawlt

The spin-off from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon raised 500 thousand euros to develop its product, which will allow companies to have full control and privacy over their data stored in a cloud-of-clouds.

Lisbon, 15 May 2019- Vawlt Technologies is the first startup to raise an investment from the Venture Capital firm’s most recent fund. Armilar Venture Partners is investing 500 thousand euros out of the 60 million euros fund that aims to help develop companies looking to commercialise the results of research output – in particular those based out of Portugal, but also more broadly, in Europe. With its first closing announced last February with over 45 million euros raised, the FCR Armilar Venture Partners TechTransfer Fund is the first of its kind in Portugal and the fifth fund launched by Armilar, a firm with a 19-year-old history of investing in national and international startups.

Vawlt Technologies is the result of several years of internationally acclaimed research, conducted at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, to develop a multicloud solution that encrypts and stores data according to the users’ needs, distributing it across different public cloud services (such as those provided by Amazon, Microsoft, etc.). After launching a consumer-oriented pilot last October, the startup will use this investment to focus on the enterprise market, to provide a solution that will raise its customers’ safety standards for cloud data storage, with added benefits such as an increased level of reliability and availability of the data, the elimination of cloud vendor lock-in and an improved balance between costs and performance of data storage services.

"We are filled with enthusiasm and looking forward to take the work we’ve been doing to the next level. We believe in the value that this technology can bring to all the companies dealing with data, especially the most critical and sensitive data, at a time where security and privacy are very prevalent issues in the corporate world. We found in Armilar the right partner to help us reach the goals we have set to ourselves, and in the months leading up to their investment we were able to validate the value and the effectiveness of this partnership.”, said Bruno Santos Amaro, co-founder and CEO of Vawlt Technologies.

For Pedro Ribeiro Santos, Partner of Armilar Venture Partners, "the decision to support Vawlt was very clear, not just because of the innovative technology it has developed – grounded on serious and matured research work, that will solve a very relevant concern that companies face when moving their data to the cloud – but also due to the quality of the team we found in Vawlt – very knowledgeable of the space, trustwothy and fully committed to the success of the project. We’ve been having the privilege of seeing high-potential technologies being developed in Portuguese universities, incubators and research centers; Vawlt Technologies is an excellent example of that quality and of the type of companies we aim to support with our newest fund.”.

About Vawlt Technologies, SA

Vawlt Technologies SA is a spin-off from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, a company founded by researchers of that school with the objective of commercialising the output of several years of internationally acclaimed research work – partially supported by the European Commission, through the Horizon 2020 program with the projects DiSIEM (700692) and SUPERCLOUD (643964) – in the scope of cybersecurity and computer data access.

About Armilar Venture Partners SGFCR, SA

Armilar Venture Partners is Portugal's leading venture capital funds manager. An independent VC with a 19-year-old history, a high-performance track record and an international footprint, Armilar is a deep-tech investor, investing in ICT, HealthTech and CleanTech with a focus on early-stage technology-based companies. Currently, Armilar has a total of about €260 million under management, with five funds deployed typically as lead investor in seed to early-stage deals in companies in Portugal, Europe and the USA. To find out more and to register for news, please go to www.armilar.com.

——

The Armilar Venture Partners TechTransfer Fund is supported by InnovFin Equity, with the financial backing of the European Union under Horizon 2020 Financial Instruments and the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) set up under the Investment Plan for Europe. The purpose of EFSI is to help support financing and implementing productive investments in the European Union and to ensure increased access to financing. The fund is also co-financed by Fundo de Capital e Quase Capital (FC&QC), managed by IFD - Instituição Financeira de Desenvolvimento, S.A..

‍