Silicon Valley-based Xage Security announced an investment from Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (Dhahran, Saudi Arabia; www.saev.com), a subsidiary of integrated energy and chemicals company Saudi Aramco. Xage also welcomes Norman Thorlakson to its leadership team as SVP of Sales and Business Development. Providing blockchain-protected security platform for IIOT, Xage’s security fabric creates a trusted foundation for in-field interactions between machines, people, apps and data. The recent funding and executive hire will drive the company’s continued growth in the energy sector, enabling distributed IIOT deployments across oil and gas, renewables, water, wind, and more.
The investment from Saudi Aramco Energy Ventures (SAEV) is an addition to Xage’s Series A round, bringing the total round size to over $16M. With an interest in improving secure operational efficiency and increasing value and production within the energy sector, the SAEV funding will support Xage’s mission to enable industrial modernization through the development and deployment of its decentralized and scalable security fabric. Having recently launched Xage for Energy, a tamperproof solution tailored to meet the needs of connected energy networks, the company’s work will continue to facilitate the industry’s adoption of emerging technologies that advance the market.
“SAEV invests in technologies and companies that represent the future of energy, and as operational networks become more connected, there’s an opportunity to improve asset management, production, and efficiency,” said Jim Sledzik of SAEV. “Xage has developed an innovative approach to distributed interactions and industrial security for IIOT, and we are proud to partner with them, as they continue to grow and contribute to the evolution of the energy sector.”
Norman Thorlakson joins as Xage’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Business Development, where he will lead expansion of the company’s portfolio of customers – including organizations across industries such as manufacturing, oil and gas, telecommunications, transportation, and utilities – activating IIOT networks with distributed and connected devices. Bringing a background in global business growth, spanning SaaS, IoT, and industrial software, and recently held senior roles at Schneider Electric and Invensys, Thorlakson’s expertise in industrial operations and automated control systems will contribute to his work with companies from the energy industry.
“Our mission is to secure all interactions involving industrial networks – whether those are between machines, apps, data, or people – to enable the next wave of connected and improved operations for global industry,” said Xage Security CEO, Duncan Greatwood. “The support from SAEV is a significant validator for Xage’s solution and its impact on the energy sector, and with the addition of Norman Thorlakson to our executive team, we are extending our reach, and supporting the benefits of IIOT and industrial automation.”