Fast-growing Silicon Valley ‘unicorn’ Rubrik expanding to Lawrence
May 31, 2017 | Bobby Burch
Rubrik — a rapidly-growing, cloud data company based in Palo Alto, Calif. — is launching a new office in Lawrence and plans to hire up to 20 area engineers.
The firm partnered with the Bioscience & Technology Business Center at the University of Kansas to create the Rubrik Center for Excellence. The center will house a data lab and technical support facility with locally-recruited staff. Rubrik creates data backup and recovery software.
Founded in 2014 and already with nearly 400 employees, Rubrik reported that its annual run-rate is approaching $100 million in three years. In May, the firm raised $180 million in a Series D investment round at a valuation of $1.3 billion, qualifying it as a “unicorn,” or firm valued at more than $1 billion.
Gerry Garwood, Rubrik regional sales manager for Kansas and Missouri, said that the new office on the KU campus will afford the company access to high-caliber talent.
“We are thrilled to establish the Rubrik Center for Excellence, which will serve the greater Kansas City metropolitan area and provide support to our global customer base that spans more than 25 countries across five continents,” Garwood said in a release. “Inspired by the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, we expect the Rubrik Center for Excellence adjacent to the University of Kansas in Lawrence to become a hub for research, innovation and training in the Midwest.”
The Bioscience & Technology Business Center is a partnership among the City of Lawrence, Douglas County, University of Kansas, and the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce to support bioscience and tech firms. To foster growth, it provides bioscience and tech firms modern labs, office space, business counseling and connections to key partners.
Featured Business

2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Techstars KC demo day: How to build inclusive teams that give first
When Lesa Mitchell first learned she’d be managing director of the inaugural Techstars KC program, she thought to herself, “Wow, I’m going to have the most inclusive program in the world,” she said Thursday at the program’s demo day event. As it turns out, diversity and inclusion can be difficult to apply — even with…
No folly for Techstars KC startups declaring growth at demo day (photo gallery)
Traction, new pilot tests and funding rounds were among the milestones met and revealed by a handful of Techstars KC startups at the accelerator’s inaugural demo day celebration. The 2017 Techstars KC class features a variety of industries — from edtech and artificial intelligence to virtual reality and food. Five of the 10 companies hail from…
Is KC enough for Amazon? Pros and cons
Correction: An earlier version of this story used an incorrect figure for Kansas City streetcar ridership. It has since been corrected to reflect the system’s more than 3 million riders. Kansas City wants Amazon. But does the online retail giant want KC? With only a few days remaining before the deadline to submit proposals for…
Deadlines approach for $100K, $500K co-investment opportunities for MO startups
It’s easy to form an idea. It’s more difficult to take it to market. The Missouri Tech Corporation’s IDEA Funds seek to facilitate the commercialization process for high-tech Missouri technologies, via a variety of co-investment opportunities. The IDEA Funds divide financing into four components that correspond to four stages of growth for entrepreneurs, from pre-investment…
