Divide

Divide, originally founded as Enterproid in 2010, specialized in enterprise mobility management, capitalizing on the growing 'Bring Your Own Device' (BYOD) trend. The company was established in New York by a team of former Morgan Stanley executives: Andrew Toy (CEO), Alexander Trewby (COO), and David Zhu (CTO). Their experience in mobile security and IT at a major financial institution provided them with direct insight into the need for a secure way for employees to use personal devices for work.

The firm's core product, also named Divide, was a software platform that created a secure, encrypted container on an employee's personal smartphone or tablet (supporting both iOS and Android). This container effectively separated work data and applications—such as email, calendar, contacts, and a secure browser—from the user's personal content. This dual-persona approach allowed a company's IT department to manage and secure the corporate partition, with capabilities like policy enforcement, remote data wiping, and app deployment, without accessing or controlling the personal side of the device. For the end-user, it enabled a seamless switch between work and personal profiles with the touch of a button, preserving their privacy and device freedom.

Divide operated on a freemium business model. It offered a free version of the app for individual professionals, while its revenue was generated from a premium subscription service, Divide Enterprise, priced at $60 per user, per year. This enterprise-tier product provided corporations with a full suite of remote management tools through the cloud-based Divide Manager console. The company successfully raised approximately $25 million in total funding through several rounds, attracting notable investors. Key funding rounds included a $2 million seed round in 2010, an $11.1 million Series A in 2011, and a $12 million Series B in 2013, which was led by Google's venture capital arm, Google Ventures. Other significant investors included Comcast Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Globespan Capital Partners, and Harmony Partners. In October 2013, coinciding with its Series B funding, the company officially rebranded from Enterproid to Divide.

The company's trajectory culminated in its acquisition by Google in May 2014 for an undisclosed amount, although some reports suggest a figure around $120 million. Following the acquisition, the Divide team was integrated into Google's Android division to enhance the enterprise security capabilities of the Android operating system. This strategic acquisition was seen as a move by Google to make Android devices more appealing and secure for corporate use, with Divide's technology eventually becoming a core part of what would be known as Android for Work.

Keywords: Divide, Enterproid, mobile device management, BYOD, bring your own device, enterprise mobility, mobile security, dual persona, secure container, workspace container, Android for Work, Google acquisition, Alexander Trewby, Andrew Toy, David Zhu, Google Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, mobile application management, IT policy enforcement, data encryption, remote wipe