COLUMBUS, Ohio (COLUMBUS BUSINESS FIRST) — Covail, the Columbus cybersecurity and business optimization software spinoff created by seven of Central Ohio’s largest employers, has been acquired by a San Diego-area security company for its AI capabilities.

GoSecure, one of the largest providers of managed detection and response to online threats, plans to complete the acquisition this month, according to a news release. Terms were not disclosed.

Rebranded in early 2020 from its initial identity as Columbus Collaboratory, Covail will continue its relationships with its founding clients and establish a cybersecurity operations center in Columbus, according to the release. Its artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities will help GoSecure filter only the most pressing threats for attention by security professionals, preventing “alert fatigue.”

“The acquisition of Covail will allow us to be even more effective and efficient in helping customers,” GoSecure CEO Neal Creighton said in a separate release. “We already lead the market with sub-15-minute detection to mitigation, and the Covail capabilities will allow us to drive this number down.”

The company was incorporated in early 2014 with a $33 million, four-year budget from a $5 million Ohio Third Frontier grant and $4 million each from the seven owners: American Electric Power Company Inc., Battelle, Cardinal Health Inc., Huntington Bancshares Inc., the former L Brands Inc. (now Bath and Body Works), Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and OhioHealth Corp. The corporations re-upped with a combined $14 million in 2018.

“Covail accelerated the cybersecurity and AI capabilities of the founding companies, upskilled critical tech talent for the region, and built a high-growth company that contributed to our region’s economic growth engine,” Michael Krouse, OhioHealth senior vice president of strategy and transformation, and Covail chairman, said in a statement.

Revenue doubled year-over-year, although numbers were not disclosed, as the company added customers outside the core group. With a leased office on Battelle’s main campus, it was an honoree in Columbus Business First’s 2020 Best Places to Work.

“Our clients will now have access to an even broader set of capabilities and expertise thanks to our ability to leverage GoSecure’s class-leading capabilities and solutions,” Covail CEO Matt Wald said in the release. “This will also help to further accelerate market penetration for our leading-edge security products and AI capabilities.”

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