True Wind Capital has made a growth investment in Ultimate Knowledge Institute, a cybersecurity workforce readiness provider, as the private equity firm looks to back expansion of UKi’s competency-driven training and readiness platform across government and commercial customers.
UKi, founded in 1999, delivers its offerings through OpenDash360, which the company describes as a mission-critical platform used by national security agencies, government contractors, state governments and enterprises to build and maintain cyber workforces. In addition to the platform, UKi provides custom cyber content and ranges and operates the UKi Cyber Arena, which aggregates multi-vendor content into a single experience aimed at operational cyber readiness.
Tony Akers, UKi’s founder and CEO, said True Wind’s technology expertise and track record scaling businesses aligned with UKi’s mission and customer focus. True Wind Partner Andy Jang said UKi’s platform goes beyond traditional learning management systems by measuring competency, individual and team performance, and readiness for specific job roles, positioning it to address demand for more integrated training, competency mapping and readiness assessment in cybersecurity.
True Wind said the investment will be used to support UKi’s expansion through additional spending on product and content development, capabilities, and sales and marketing. The firm added that it will work with management on organic growth initiatives while maintaining UKi’s focus on customer cyber readiness.
True Wind Capital, founded in 2015 and based in San Francisco, invests in technology businesses across Industrial Tech, Business Services & Compliance, and Financial Services, and said it has completed 17 platform investments and numerous add-on acquisitions.
KEY QUOTES
“True Wind brings a collaborative, long-term approach that aligns well with our mission and values… Their technology expertise and strong track record expanding businesses are complementary to our agility and disciplined customer focus. Our partnership is sure to take UKi to the next level.”
Tony Akers, Founder and CEO, Ultimate Knowledge Institute
“We are excited to partner with the UKi team as they enter their next phase of growth… UKi has built a first-of-its-kind platform that goes beyond traditional learning management systems to measure competency, individual and team performance, and readiness for specific job roles.”
“The Company is well-positioned to capitalize on the urgent need in cybersecurity for a platform that can pull together decentralized training solutions, map competencies and job roles, personalize training, and deliver individual and team readiness assessments.”
Andy Jang, Partner, True Wind Capital
