Pátria’s cybersecurity firm eyes Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Peru

Brazilian asset manager and investment fund Pátria Investimentos launched a new portfolio company, SEK (Security Ecosystem Knowledge), to offer tech and network security services to companies in Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Peru, in addition to its home market.

Pátria has committed to invest US$250mn in LatAm cybersecurity. As part of the strategy, the fund acquired in 2021 two companies – Chile's NeoSecure and Brazil's Proteus.

SEK emerged from the combination of these two assets and looks to offer managed, professional and consulting services. Pátria appointed Brazilian IT executive Maurício Prado to lead the operation.

"With headquarters in Brazil and operations in Chile, Argentina, Colombia and Peru, the company was born with [annual] revenues of over US$100mn, a portfolio of more than 650 active clients and a team of 750 professionals," Pátria said in a statement.

The new company has a portfolio of solutions comprising more than 60% of the main information security technologies available in the market, according to Pátria.

SEK will offer managed services from four centers in Latin America. It also has its own R&D centers in the US and Portugal.

It intends to double the size of the operation this year and reach US$500mn in revenue in five years. 

SEK also plans to invest US$15mn in portfolio development and personnel, hiring more than 150 professionals in Latin America.