Paladin invests in ClearCube

Washington-based private equity investment firm Paladin Capital Management LLC has invested $20 million in ClearCube Technology Inc., an Austin, Texas, computer provider, Paladin announced Jan. 7.

This fourth round of funding, supplied by Paladin's Homeland Security and Partners' Fund, joins investments from other companies, such as Techno Venture Management of Boston and Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego.

Employing 80 people, privately held ClearCube markets blade computers, or computers housed in thin boxes that can be stacked to save space and ease maintenance and security management. Government customers include the Air Force, the departments of Justice and State and the North American Aerospace Defense Command.

"ClearCube's unique approach to securing and centralizing both hardware and software within an enterprise is a strategic fit with the objectives of our Homeland Security Fund," said Kenneth Minihan, a Paladin principal and a former director of the National Security Agency.