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Security software maker Cylance Inc. plans to consolidate its local operations at the soon-to-open 400 Spectrum Center office tower in the Irvine Spectrum.

The fast-growing company, which employs the bulk of its roughly 600-person workforce in Irvine, recently struck a deal to lease about 134,000 square feet at the glass-sheathed tower being built by Newport Beach-based Irvine Company in the largest new office lease announced in Orange County so far this year.

The lease includes most of the space on the six lower floors of the 21-story tower, which along with its sister building at 200 Spectrum Center is OC’s tallest office. The latter opened about 18 months ago and is largely full, save its top floor, where monthly rents will top $5 per square foot. It’s anchored by Mazda North American Operations, which leases 102,000 square feet for its U.S. headquarters.

The 400 Spectrum building is scheduled to open in a few months, after which Cylance will start interior work on its space. It hasn’t announced a move-in date.

Its current headquarters are at the 18201 Von Karman tower a few blocks from John Wayne Airport. The company leases space at other buildings in the airport area, including ones owned by Irvine Co., for an area total of roughly 150,000 square feet.

The new location will consolidate Cylance’s local operations under one roof, which should add some efficiencies to its local operations and require less overall space, according to real estate sources familiar with the recent lease.

The company announced layoffs in early April, but the job cuts are unrelated to the downsized space it will occupy, real estate sources told the Business Journal.

Cylance officials declined to comment last week on the new office lease.

Fast Grower

The impending move to one of OC’s most prominent office towers marks another step in the growth of Cylance, which was ranked the area’s fastestgrowing midsized company by sales last year, based on the Business Journal’s latest list of area firms with $10 million to $100 million in annual sales.

The company reported nearly $82 million in sales in the 12 months through last June, up nearly 2,000% from two years earlier.

Cylance’s security software fuses machine learning, artificial intelligence algorithms, and the cloud to thwart threats and cyberattacks before they hit servers, desktops and virtual desktops.

The company was founded in 2012 by Stuart McClure, former chief technology officer at antivirus software firm McAfee Inc.; and Ryan Permeh, former chief scientist at McAfee.

McClure is Cylance’s chief executive, Permeh its chief scientist.

Cylance’s products prevent 1,500 to 2,000 ransomware, virus, spyware and worm attacks, among others, every week, and are used by more than 1,000 customers, McClure said late last year. Customers include a number of Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.

The 5-year-old company is privately held but perhaps not much longer. New job postings on its website include senior finance positions whose responsibilities include assisting “with any and all potential IPO-related activities.”

Cylance has raised $177 million in funding, including a $100 million Series D round about a year ago.

Investors include Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, Insight Venture Partners, Dell Technologies Capital and DFJ Growth.

The company is one of several local security firms that have gotten investor interest. Irvine-based CrowdStrike Inc. announced last week that it raised $100 million in its latest funding round, bringing its total investment close to $250 million. It’s based at Discovery Business Center, a midrise office campus owned by Irvine Co. in the Irvine Spectrum.

 

Originally published on May 22, Orange County Business Journal

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