This story appears in the November issue of Utah Business. Subscribe.

Do you ever get that feeling — those goosebump moments when you know you’ve stumbled upon something extraordinary? At Pelion Venture Partners, we joke about experiencing a “spiritual conversion” when we discover founders or companies that evoke this feeling. Call it intuition, a gut instinct or excellent pattern recognition; it’s very rare, but when it happens, you can’t ignore it. That’s exactly what happened with Strider Technologies.

We first heard the words “There’s nothing out there like Strider,” spoken by the quantum security executive from one of the most recognizable software companies in the world. This sentiment was repeated throughout the investment diligence process and in every customer interaction we had. Strider’s technology isn’t just different; it’s foundational, and it’s transforming the intelligence community in both the public and private sectors. Some went as far as defining Strider’s technology as “category creating.”

Strider is closing seven-figure contracts, serving many Fortune 100 customers and spanning every imaginable vertical, from technology to financial services, manufacturing, government, education and more. With offices in Utah; Washington, D.C.; Japan and London, Strider is ensuring global enterprises protect their intellectual property while managing a remarkably modest burn rate.

Strider’s co-founders — Greg Levesque, Eric Levesque and Michael Brown — are exceptional leaders with a rare blend of skills and experience. Their expertise spans foreign relations, international business, languages including Mandarin and Russian, and over 60 years of combined experience in software development. This makes them uniquely qualified to lead Strider in revolutionizing the intelligence space. The impressive roster of talent joining their team validates the importance of Strider’s mission and its far-reaching impact.

Pelion proudly led Strider’s $55M Series C round, investing alongside AXA Venture Partners, Valor Equity Partners, DataTribe and Cyfr Capital. We are grateful to be part of Strider’s journey, and we are delighted that such a groundbreaking platform is being built in Utah. Strider projects to add more than 150 new jobs based in Utah over the next several years.

Beyond the gut feeling, persuasive customer calls, impressive numbers and a killer team, our investment thesis is rooted in a world of increasing global chaos. Recent news articles about companies like Google, Microsoft, Cloudflare and KnowBe4 have highlighted the extent threat actors will go in pursuit of geopolitical advancement. We believe that Strider’s mission to protect the ideals and innovations of the free world is bigger than security or simply defending against threat actors. They’re safeguarding the very pillars that drive global advancement — democracy, free trade, rule of law, peace, security, innovation and progress.

Kristy is a seasoned senior executive and investor at Pelion Venture Partners. With a proven track record in customer experience, M&A, strategy and operations, she has successfully overseen multimillion-dollar business acquisitions and cross-functional teams of 70+ across five countries.