Dr. Paul Judge is an ideal example of black excellence. He was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A in 1977. Paul Judge, also known as the godfather of technology, is a CEO, entrepreneur, inventor, HBCU graduate, business tycoon, and investor who is paving the way for African Americans in the field of technology.
Paul Judge has invented over 30 patent-pending and patented computer security technologies and his investments include over 60 startups. He is a co-founder of Panoramic Ventures and TechSquare Labs as well as executive chairman and co-founder of Pindrop. TechSquare Labs is a venture firm and company-building studio that is established in Atlanta. Pindrop’s technology helps to protect some of the largest insurers, banks, and retailers in the world and has received funding totaling over $100 million in revenue from venture firms which include Andreessen Horowitz, Google capital, and IVP.
Early Life and Schooling the Godfather
At an early age, while growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Paul fell in love with technology. Paul’s mother was an educator at a Technical College when he was a child. Office occupation was one of the classes his mother taught. In this class, students were taught typing and secretarial skills. Judge would have access to typewriters which had small word processor screens. This sparked his interest in typing, which turned into a love for computers.
Soon after, Paul’s family purchased a used computer of their own. Along with the computer came a floppy disk. Paul enjoyed various typing games on his family’s computer. Paul would play with the floppy disk when he became bored. He would play with the DOS and oh learned how to create different things. This became the key moment that drove his interest in programming and technology.
Judge decided that he would become a chemical engineer in high school. To break into the world of technology, he took up a job at the Exxon chemical plant where he learned some computer programming. Further inspiration came from the office he shared with graduates of LSU who had earned chemical engineering degrees.
Judge attended Morehouse College after he graduated from high school. He later earned his doctorate in cybersecurity at Georgia Tech. In 1999, Judge joined the cofounding team of an e-mail security tech company which he went on to later acquire in 2006.
Early Career
Paul became the CTO of CipherTrust, an e-mail security tech startup. The startup was then acquired by Secure Computing for an impressive $283 million in 2006. Paul co-founded Purewire in 2007, which is a web security company that was later acquired by Barracuda networks in 2009. Paul later co-founded Luma Home a consumer Wi-Fi company that was then acquired by another company in 2018.
While juggling grad school, Judge ventured into startup life. One of his peers approached him and mentioned a tech entrepreneur who he should meet. His name was Jay Chadre.
Jay had recently sold a company called secure IT to a company called Verisign. The result was billions of dollars of wealth because the stock began to take off. Following Jay was prepared to launch an e-mail security tech startup and needed new talent to join his team. Jay met with Judge and hired him as a junior developer. With the help of Judge, Jay’s company CipherTrust grew exponentially. Because of all his hard work, Judge quickly moved up in the ranks. CipherTrust was soon acquired by Secure Computing, where Judge became the CTO at the age of 29.
Judge soon left SecureComputing to start a web security company called PureWire. Judge remained PureWire’s CTO until it was acquired by Barracuda networks in 2009. He served as the Chief Research Officer from the company’s IPO until 2013.
After his time at PureWire, Judge co-founded a consumer Wi-Fi company called Luma Home. In 2018, Judge and his team at Luma Home were able to raise $22 million in funds from notable investors.
Pindrop
Judge currently serves on the board of TheraTrue and Greenwood Bank, as well as a partner of TechSquare Labs and co-founder and executive chairman of PinDrop.
Silicon Valley is rapidly working its way into tech ventures throughout Atlanta. This includes Paul Judge’s own tech ventures. Pindrop is currently working on expanding throughout Asia and Europe, using its D Funding to protect Siri and Alexa from the threat of hackers and tackle the issues involving voice fraud.
Leadership Roles & Awards
Paul spent some time working with IBM before going on to work for NASA. Throughout his time, Judge has achieved various awards. He was MIT’s Technology Review Magazines Top 100 Innovators Under 35, Fortunes 2016 Forty Under 40 list, Info World’s top 25 CTO’s, as well as Black Enterprises’ 50 Most Powerful Players Under 40. Paul was the leader of numerous research projects over the years which includes founding the Internet Task Force’s anti-spam research group. In 2017, Judge became a member of the class of Henry Crown Fellows.
Judge was a limited partner and a $15 million cultural leadership fund that was diversity focused. Other partners included the Pinkett -Smiths and Shonda Rhimes. He has proven to be a mentor and catalyst for Atlanta’s startups.
While avoiding the Silicon Valley influence, Judge is a black founder who has adapted his own Silicon Valley style confidence in Atlanta. He recently acquired 15,000 sq ft of office space for TechSquare Labs, with Sam’s as director of partnerships. The space serves as a corporate innovation center and coworking space also known as Point A. Young entrepreneurs can collaborate with organizations like Delta Airlines and Georgia Pacific as well as TechSquare’s own technologies which range from robotics to machine learning. Judge’s goal is to make Atlanta the hub of black technology.
Paul Judge is part of our Black Founders50 Series. Download the complete 2023 BBVA Founders50 list here.