Razberi gets $3m

AUSTIN, Texas—Razberi Technologies, which was reinvented three years ago by Tom Galvin, received in November a $3m investment from a new investor, LiveOak Venture Partners of Austin, Texas.

“We launched the company exactly three years ago in November 2011. We've been growing nicely through word of mouth but we got to the point where, to sustain growth, we needed outside capital,” Galvin told Security Systems News.

The funds will be used “to invest in sales, marketing and branding awareness to fully leverage what we've built here in our product line and to invest in R&D. We want to continue to evolve and to develop the product line,” Galvin said.

Razberi's flagship product is its ServerSwitch, which combines “the functions of a network video recorder and ethernet smart switch into a single compact appliance.”

These appliances “go where IT doesn't go because of cost or form factor,” Galvin explained.

Currently in development is a “ruggedized line for outdoor applications. There's a growing energy business in the U.S., with oil and natural gas and windmills and they all need video surveillance,” he said.

Galvin also announced that Ken Boyda has joined Razberi as non-executive chairman of its board of directors.

Boyda built Interlogix company, which he sold to GE Security and was subsequently sold to UTC. Galvin and Boyda worked together at GE before Boyda retired.

Boyda has stayed active in the industry, Galvin said, serving on the board of VideoIQ before its acquisition by Avigilon. He also currently serves on the board of PSIM provider VidSys.

Boyda introduced Galvin to LiveOak Ventures. “Razberi [which is based in Carrollton, Texas] is LiveOak's first investment in North Texas. There's a start-up market here that's underserved by financial [backers], and LiveOak saw us a real opportunity,” Galvin said.

Jiri Modry, whom Galvin called “one of the pioneers,” has also joined Razberi's board. “He developed the first DVR for security and sold it to Interlogix [which was sold to GE.] … The GE DVR line at the time was based on Yiri's technology. It's great to have his expertise on the board as well,” Galvin said.

Ben Scott and Krishna Srivivasan, both of LiveOak Venture Partners, also joined the board.

Razberi also hired Rich Anderson as its CTO. “He's a key hire for us. He served in different executive capacities at GE and Casi Rusco back in the day,” Galvin said.