Aarhus-based spinout company Sepior is purchased by an American market leader

From the founding of Sepior in 2014 to that summer in Mols in 2022, the founders have been 100% focused on their shared passion: the intersection of heavy knowledge and innovative technology. The passion turned into a mission to develop amazing technology in cryptographic key management. And they succeeded. But not without bumps in the road.

"At one point, we were running out of money and were actually looking for other jobs. But then a Japanese company stumbled upon us and an hour after the first meeting, they offered to invest in us," says Jakob Pagter and elaborates:

"We were actually about to shut down after spending a long time looking for investors. So, when we were approached one day by the Japanese company that wanted us to create software for cryptocurrency keys, we naturally said yes and actually changed the focus of Sepior."

Originally, the founders of computer science at Aarhus University had founded Sepior to encrypt data in cloud solutions. But after the development contract with the Japanese company was signed in 2018, Sepior set its sights on becoming one of the world's best at creating MPC-based cryptographic key management.

"It was a coincidence that the Japanese found us and it was fortunate that we hadn't gone bankrupt before. But we were good at adapting," says Jakob Pagter with a smile. So good that Sepior actually became a world leader in their field and was discovered by Blockdaemon in the summer of 2022.

Sepior by Blockdaemon - a match that makes sense

After long negotiations, thorough due diligence and legal formalities, Sepior was acquired by American Blockdaemon - the leading blockchain infrastructure company that primarily sells its solutions to large enterprises such as banks. According to Jakob Pagter, Sepior's software fits perfectly as an extension of what Blockdaemon already offers its customers. The match makes sense not only commercially, but also culturally:

"They're also just nerds like us, creating technology in the belly of something they're selling to the world. We have the same mindset. And being part of a larger company gives us more muscle to play with and more skills to draw on. In the long term, the sale provides synergy, a whole lot more opportunities and together we are even stronger in the attempt to be a key player in a new market that is just waiting for solutions," he says and adds:

"It was nice when the sale was finalized, because there is some economy in it, but most of all it was really a validation that the last eight years of work succeeded and that we weren't completely crazy."

Sepior is now Sepior by Blockdaemon and 95% of the company's work now consists of blockchain and cryptocurrency, which the company delivers exclusively to b2b customers.

Born into the strong and knowledge-intensive IT environment at Katrinebjerg

With a background in computer science, the crypto research group at Aarhus University, and several years of association with the Alexandra Institute, it's clear that Sepior's foundation is built on a strong, knowledge-heavy IT environment.

"We have been part of the IT city Katrinebjerg for many years, where we have ridden a wave that has shown us what other startups do and is able to accomplish. Unlike many other startups, we were driven by the technology itself, whereas others were driven by a customer need first. We could be a little envious of that. We did it the other way around and were lucky to stumble upon some customers," says Jakob Pagter and adds:

"In reality, life as an entrepreneur is a lot about luck and the ability to spot and seize business opportunities. So even though we were lucky, we were also good at doing what we do technically and were able to change direction when the opportunity presented itself."

Today, Sepior lives in INCUBA Navitas with walls adorned with paintings of landscapes, cows and ships - and a sublime view of Aarhus city centre, the harbour and the summer house on Mols:

"We love being here because it has an atmosphere of entrepreneurial life, students and a startup environment. That means a lot to us. We enjoy being part of the environment and we are happy to share our experience if there is interest and we can give back to the ecosystem," concludes Jakob Pagter.

Read more about Sepior here