Secure cloud-based messaging platform Symphony Communication Services LLC has announced a fresh funding round worth over $100 million, led by Google Inc. along with a clutch of other investors.

The Wall Street Journal actually reported Google’s investment in Symphony late last week, but it turns out the search engine giant isn’t alone, as it’s also been joined by Lakestar, Natixis, Société Générale S.A., UBS AG, and existing investor Merus Capital.

According to TechCrunch, Symphony set out to secure just $50 million in funding, but found the demand was so great that it ended up accepting double the amount of funds.

The new round means that Symphony’s total funding now stands north of $165 million, while the company itself is now valued at some $650 million, Re/Code reports. Previous investors in the company include a consortium of 15 banks and financial companies, including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan and Citi.

So what is it about Symphony that it has investors clamoring at its door to seed it with capital? Well, encryption is the name of the game for Symphony, which thinks its found a niche with the demand for ultra-secure communications for companies that need their communications to be, well, ultra-secure.

Symphony offers a cloud-based messaging service that draws on advanced encryption techniques to secure all communications. The service relies on “encryption of data on the wire using HTTPS and stored data using service-provider owned keys”, according to the company’s website, while promising “no service-provider or vendor access to decrypted customer data.”

Symphony’s platform is aimed at companies that need their communications to be both water-tight and stored for a long time. That ostensibly means companies that offer financial services, which are required by law in most to keep communications on file for a number of years so they’re available for regulatory or legal investigations. Symphony launched its product just last month, on September 15.

Despite its initial focus on financial service companies, Symphony is clearly looking to expand into other industries, hence the involvement of Google in this latest round.

“Google’s participation will help us evolve the company beyond the financial services realm,” Symphony CEO David Gurlé explained to Re/code.

Image credit: Comfreak via pixabay.com