‘Unicorn’ cybersecurity company gets ready for more growth in Austin

After tripling its Austin headcount in the past year, the fast-growing cybersecurity company has moved to a larger downtown office to prepare for more growth.

The company, founded in 2010 in Ann Arbor, Mich., helps businesses prevent being hacked by protecting workers’ accounts and mobile devices with a two-factor authentication system.

The company has more than 10,000 customers including Etsy, Facebook and Yelp and protects 300 million computer logins worldwide every month.

Duo Security opened an Austin office on East Fifth Street last year to tap into the technology labor market. It now has 90 employees here, company officials say.

Now the company is tripling its footprint by moving to a 23,400-square-foot space in the historic Bosche-Hogg building at 804 Congress Ave.

“Austin has basically beat all expectations, and we are growing faster than planned,” said Duo Security’s CEO Dug Song. “Our original look at Austin was not only a great talent pool, but the fact that it’s steeped in rich history, not just in tech but culturally. We just knew we wanted to be part of that.”

In October, Duo Security raised $70 million in new venture capital, which put the market value of the company at $1.17 billion.

The company, whose investors include Google Ventures and Meritech Capital, has received a total of $119 million in total funding.

Song said over the next year, the Austin office will focus on growing its engineering team. The company has a range of other positions in Austin, including marketing and operations, and will also expand in those areas, he said.

“We planted a flag here in Austin, and what we realized is there is so much more opportunity for us to grow here than we imagined,” he said.

In addition to its Ann Arbor headquarters, the firm has offices in San Francisco and London.