Octopus Ventures backed the company with £1.25 million from its Titan VCTs 1 and 2.

This is the first investment made by the Titan VCTs since their launch in October last year. Octopus says it has received a ‘substantial’ holding in the company in return for its investment, which was supplemented by money raised through the firm’s private investor group.

The investee company’s first product is a USB key with an embedded SIM card and PIN protection. It allows users to access standard Windows applications, browse the internet, and collaborate in a secure environment with other users of the technology, without leaving any trace of their work on the host computer.

The company’s management team consists of former employees of Vodafone, which holds a patent on the technology and is a shareholder in the company.

Adrian Burholt, chief executive of The Key Revolution, says that ‘successful technology entrepreneurs’ among Octopus’s private investor group will be of assistance in taking the product to market.

The company commenced beta testing with paying customers in February and a full launch is anticipated later this summer.

The 2008 VCT Special Report, published by our sister title Business XL, will be released soon and contains the amount of cash available for investment in every single VCT, as well as complete contact details of each fund and a mine of other invaluable research.