Eric Hahn, the email guru, raises big cash for email security
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Eric Hahn is the Silicon Valley email guy — who never stops.
Look at this photo of Hahn on his website. “Hah, it’s a piece of cake,” he seems to be saying. He was founder and CEO of Collabra Software, sold to Netscape. He was CTO of Netscape. He launched Lookout Software, a search application for Microsoft Outlook, which was snapped up by Microsoft barely more than a year ago. He played a role in shaping Good Technology’s strategy. And he backed Zimbra, the Web 2.0 email service that has gotten quite a bit of buzz.
And now he is founder of Proofpoint, a Cupertino company that provides email services to companies that helps prevent spam, viruses and embarrasing correspondence that run afoul of securities regulations or internal corporate policies. Of course, his name at the company’s Web site is above even the CEO’s. Here’s the news: Proofpoint has just raised $20 million more, adding to its $38 million previously. That’s a lot of cash.
By the way, Proofpoint’s latest round is the first investment by Bridgescale Partners, a private eqity firm launched by Rob Chaplinsky. We’ve written a lot about VCs who leave to start smaller early-stage firms. This is a case of a guy who goes the other way, later-stage.
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About the Author, Matt Marshall
Matt launched VentureBeat in September of 2006, with the realization that no one else was covering the entrepreneurial and tech innovation scene with the velocity or depth that he was. Prior to founding VentureBeat, he covered venture capital for the San Jose Mercury News from 2001 to 2006. In 2002, Matt was awarded "Journalist of the Year" by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists. Prior to working at the Merc, he was a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Bonn, Germany from 1995 to 1998, and a writer for the Washington Post in 1994. Matt holds a PhD in Government and an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University. In addition to VentureBeat, Matt is also the Executive Producer of DEMO, the leading launchpad event for emerging technologies.
