PSafe

PSafe is a Brazilian digital security company that provides cloud-based antivirus software, data storage services, and web browsing security features. The PSafe software is primarily used among Brazil’s middle class and has received an estimated 30 million installs. PSafe was launched in November 2010 with an initial investment round of $15 million.

The company’s free antivirus service is intended to be a channel for users to discover paid cloud services like online backup and file transfer. Between November 2011 and December 2013, PSafe had acquired more than 25 million users.

Corporate history

When PSafe launched it adopted 100,000 users within a few months of operations. The founders’ initial concept for PSafe was to attract customers through free antivirus software and then convert them into customers for paid online backup and file transfer services.

Early marketing efforts involved partnering with Peixe Urbano to allow customers to earn credit if they referred friends to the service. The credit could then be used on features like online backups and file transfers.

PSafe was founded in November 2010 as part of an effort by Xango Group to develop five businesses within five years. In 2011, PSafe launched a cloud-based data storage service called LockBox.

PSafe’s $15 million Series A investment round came from venture capital firms like Redpoint Ventures, Index Ventures, and BV Capital.

As of November 2011, PSafe had 35 employees and its two data centers in Rio de Janeiro and Alphaville housed 800 physical servers with the capability to serve 1.5 million computers.

In August 2013 PSafe entered a partnership with Bitdefender, an antivirus solutions company. As part of the partnership, PSafe will incorporate Bitdefender’s software into its products. The partnership was intended to bolster PSafe’s ability to provide the most effective antivirus products in Brazil.

PSafe successfully raised $30 million in Series C funding. Qihoo 360 led the round with a $25 million investment, and further funding came from Redpoint e.Ventures, and Pinnacle Ventures.

Following PSafe’s Series C funding round, the company was valued at approximately $130 million.

Services

PSafe’s antivirus software is accessed through the cloud, meaning that users always have the latest virus definitions when scanning the computer. Virus registries, which are hosted on PSafe servers, are constantly updated, allowing for high detection rates.

In November 2011, PSafe reported that its software had removed 45 million infections and that approximately 87% of surveyed users had computers that were infected with a “virtual plague” that would allow their machines to be used remotely by hackers.