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The once-promising startup opened by the director of the NSA has not found its application in cyberspace.
IronNet, a company founded by a former NSA director and funded by cybersecurity and defense investors, has been shut down and the remaining staff laid off following bankruptcy.
In a statement, Cameron Pfor, president and chief financial officer of IronNet, said that the company has ceased all business activities in anticipation of filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which will eventually lead to the liquidation of the remaining assets of the company to pay off debts.
IronNet, based in Virginia, USA, was founded in 2014 by retired General Keith Alexander shortly after he stepped down as director of the NSA during the biggest leak of state secrets to date by former employee Edward Snowden.
IronNet offered corporations and government agencies technologies aimed at protecting against cyber threats, using large data sets and analytics to automate threat intelligence. Other products of the company were developed to protect critical infrastructure.
To date, the company has raised more than $400 million. One of the firm's clients was a major media company, Thomson Reuters. IronNet also received $5.6 million in federal loans allocated to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the company failed to find its niche after going public in August 2021, and the stock price continued to decline after the initial increase. By the following year, IronNet had fewer than 100 corporate clients. IronNet also cut 17% of its staff in June 2023.
Alexander served as IronNet's chief executive until July, when he was replaced by Linda Zecker, chairman of IronNet's largest investor, C5 Capital, as part of the investment firm's rescue effort. C5 Capital invested more than $1.3 million in IronNet in September to prevent the firm's eventual collapse.
The company's other investors, Forgepoint Capital and Kleiner Perkins, did not comment on the firm's bankruptcy. IronNet also said it "does not expect any distribution of funds to shareholders." Alexander, who remains Chairman of IronNet's board of directors, is also a member of SolCyber's board of directors.
IronNet, a company founded by a former NSA director and funded by cybersecurity and defense investors, has been shut down and the remaining staff laid off following bankruptcy.
In a statement, Cameron Pfor, president and chief financial officer of IronNet, said that the company has ceased all business activities in anticipation of filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which will eventually lead to the liquidation of the remaining assets of the company to pay off debts.
IronNet, based in Virginia, USA, was founded in 2014 by retired General Keith Alexander shortly after he stepped down as director of the NSA during the biggest leak of state secrets to date by former employee Edward Snowden.
IronNet offered corporations and government agencies technologies aimed at protecting against cyber threats, using large data sets and analytics to automate threat intelligence. Other products of the company were developed to protect critical infrastructure.
To date, the company has raised more than $400 million. One of the firm's clients was a major media company, Thomson Reuters. IronNet also received $5.6 million in federal loans allocated to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the company failed to find its niche after going public in August 2021, and the stock price continued to decline after the initial increase. By the following year, IronNet had fewer than 100 corporate clients. IronNet also cut 17% of its staff in June 2023.
Alexander served as IronNet's chief executive until July, when he was replaced by Linda Zecker, chairman of IronNet's largest investor, C5 Capital, as part of the investment firm's rescue effort. C5 Capital invested more than $1.3 million in IronNet in September to prevent the firm's eventual collapse.
The company's other investors, Forgepoint Capital and Kleiner Perkins, did not comment on the firm's bankruptcy. IronNet also said it "does not expect any distribution of funds to shareholders." Alexander, who remains Chairman of IronNet's board of directors, is also a member of SolCyber's board of directors.
