Auckland startup raises $4.1m from top Silicon Valley investors

Auckland-based software startup Termius has charmed investors  –  including some of Silicon's top venture capitalists – and successfully completed a $4.1 million seed round.

Termius co-founders Roman Kudiyarov and Dmitry Lyfar created what they describe as a cross-platform terminal and SSH client for IT engineers.

The duo initially developed software for other businesses until they decided to commercialise their internal product Termius, which was originally created for their own use.

"Tens of millions of engineers who look after infrastructure and networks use a system called SSH for troubleshooting and maintenance," the company explains.

"Most of them have to access SSH through old school clients that have not been designed to work on multiple devices or allow for collaboration with other team members. Termius transforms all that by syncing data across unlimited devices using end-to-end encryption.

Termius' software is also used by more than 11,000 network engineers and DevOps. The company works with clients including SpaceX, Disney, and Cisco.

Even Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak praised Termius after he reviewed the software:

"Termius served my purpose well and was easy to understand. I like to show off my router and tonight, with family in a restaurant, I even used Termius."

Lyfar says the company has been on a fantastic journey of growth, but it's time to take things to the next level.

"The thing that gets us most excited is the thought of helping network engineers in whatever it is they're working on: whether that's getting humans to Mars, or making amazing films for children.

"The seed round, and the calibre of investors which comes with it, is a tremendous show of faith in our vision and we're very excited," adds Kudiyarov.

Termius will use the funding to scale from a single-user focused product to a team-focused collaboration tool.

"With Termius, we give engineers more mobility and free time by automating much of the menial work they do. That means they get more time to be creative and innovative, which leads to more of society's problems being solved through better technology," Kudiyarov continues.

"We believe Termius will totally transform the way network engineers around the world work: whether it's to help them fix network issues on their phones while they're on holiday, or collaborate with their teams in ways previously impossible.