TEDCO exits Ellicott City’s Blackpoint Cyber

TEDCO, Maryland’s state-created investor for technology companies, has bid farewell to a cybersecurity firm from its portfolio.

On Thursday, the funder announced the successful exit of Ellicott City-based Blackpoint Cyber. This exit came nearly five years after TEDCO’s Seed Funds provided an initial investment of $200,000 in 2018 to support the growth and development of the cybersecurity company. Blackpoint Cyber raised a $7 million Series B two years later, as well as a $190 million Series C with Bain Capital’s support earlier this year.

According to TEDCO Chief Investment Officer Jack Miner, this move involves TEDCO and the rest of the company’s original investors “essentially being ‘bought out of our position through this acquisition.'”

“It is not a matter of whether we want to stay or not, our stock is being purchased through this acquisition (we have no choice but to sell),” Miner explained via email. “There are essentially three ways that a venture fund gets a return on its investment: 1) the company goes public (IPO), 2) the company gets acquired through by a bigger company, and 3) the company stock is purchased by another entity (private equity) as part of a ‘roll up.’  As long as the acquiring company or IPO exit is at a higher price than the fund invested, it is a good day for the venture investor. In this case with BlackPoint, we are receiving a nice return on our original investment.”

TEDCO CEO Troy LeMaile-Stovall cited Blackpoint Cyber as an example of the kind of local economy-boosting company the investor aims to support.

“Our mission seeks to deliver significant returns, while also creating economic benefits to Maryland,” he told Technical.ly via email. “The Blackpoint investment exemplifies that to a strong degree.”

TEDCO Marketing Director Tammi Thomas declined to state the amount TEDCO made off of that exit, only that it was over the $200,000 TEDCO initially invested.

Blackpoint Cyber’s primary objective is to offer organizations worldwide affordable and efficient solutions for real-time threat detection and response. This exit holds the potential for the founders to sell full or partial company ownership to investors or other firms.

The exit also comes on the heels of Blackpoint Cyber’s recent announcement of partnerships with Pax8 and investors Bain Capital and Accel. The former collaboration will bring detection and response capabilities to Pax8’s cloud marketplace for managed service providers (MSPs). The partnership with Bain Capital and Accel will similarly help Blackpoint Cyber further its standing in the MSP ecosystem, according to a company spokesperson.

Exits often generate favorable returns for startups and investors, which could indicate positive prospects for the broader entrepreneurial community in the Baltimore area. This counters the recent trend reported in this year’s Q1 Venture Monitor, in which Charm City and the surrounding region experienced a decline in VC activity since late 2022.