Duo Security opens Detroit office in Bamboo Detroit coworking space

Opening a Detroit office was always a matter of "when" more than "if" for Ann Arbor tech company Duo Security.

That's according to Duo chief information officer Raffaele Mautone, who helped lead the company's recent expansion into Detroit. Duo celebrated its first day in business at co-working space Bamboo Detroit, 1420 Washington Blvd. in Detroit, on April 9.

Duo began its search for the right location in Detroit about a year ago. The company has been a part of the Detroit community for years, Mautone says, and it's been "watching Detroit being disruptive and grow."

"We looked at other locations, but Bamboo aligned with our culture and had what we look for in a building and in a partner," Mautone says.

Duo Security, which was founded in 2010, protects companies and individuals from data breaches. The company transferred 30 employees from its Ann Arbor team of around 300 to the Detroit office, where they are currently occupying temporary digs. Mautone says the company chose employees for the Detroit office based partly on what roles needed to be filled and partly on which employees already lived closer to Detroit than to Ann Arbor.

Before the year is out, Duo's Detroit team expects to take over the entire 9,000-square-foot sixth floor at Bamboo. That space will allow the Detroit office to grow to somewhere between 75 and 90 employees, depending on how the space is designed during the build-out phase, Mautone says.

Mautone says that although he is focused on growing the Detroit office, Duo continues to expand in Ann Arbor as well. He expects growth to happen at both locations "organically."

"We love doing tech talks and doing community outreach, and we've joined events here where people from Ann Arbor were invited to talk about the region and how we can grow together," Mautone says. "We think adding the Detroit office complements what's already going on between the two cities and creates a region that allows the local tech community to grow."

Sarah Rigg is a freelance writer and editor in Ypsilanti Township. You may reach her at [email protected].