With help from the Tech community, Pindrop Security is making waves in the world of telecom security, most recently securing funding from the likes of venture capital firm Andreesseen Horowitz, which has also lent support to Facebook, Twitter and Groupon.
Pindrop uses “acoustic fingerprint” detection techniques to more precisely identify the device and location of a call’s origin. The technology was developed at the Georgia Tech Information Security Center by Vijay Balasubramaniyan, MS IS 08, PhD CS 11, GTISC director Mustaque Ahamad, and School of Computer Science assistant professor Patrick Traynor. The Georgia Tech Research Corporation helped secure patents to protect the startup’s intellectual property, and the Pindrop team has been able to connect with local Atlanta resources and supporters with the help of Tech’s VentureLab program.
In addition to the funding from Andreesseen Horowitz, the young company has also received $150,000 from the National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research program in partnership with Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute. Early funding also came from the Georgia Research Alliance.
Pindrop recently snagged office space at the Advanced Technology Development Center at Technology Square and last spring joined the inaugural class for Flashpoint, an Institute-sponsored, mentorship-based technology incubator. Flashpoint connected Pindrop to entrepreneur Paul Judge, MS CS 01, PhD CS 02, who brings his experience with security companies to the table as the startup’s new chairman.
Twitter