At a glance.
- Akamai acquires Linode for $900 million.
- eSentire raises $325 million.
Mergers and acquisitions.
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Akamai has acquired Philadelphia-headquartered infrastructure-as-a-service platform provider Linode for $900 million. Akamai's CEO and co-founder Dr. Tom Leighton stated, "The opportunity to combine Linode’s developer-friendly cloud computing capabilities with Akamai’s market-leading edge platform and security services is transformational for Akamai. Akamai has been a pioneer in the edge computing business for over 20 years, and today we are excited to begin a new chapter in our evolution by creating a unique cloud platform to build, run and secure applications from the cloud to the edge. This a big win for developers who will now be able to build applications on a platform that delivers unprecedented scale, reach, performance, reliability and security."
Darktrace, headquartered in Cambridge, England, has acquired Dutch attack surface management company Cybersprint for €47.5 million ($53.7 million). Darktrace stated, "Through this acquisition, Darktrace gains a second European R&D Centre in The Hague, Netherlands, joining forces with its world-class, Cambridge-based mathematicians and software engineers. Cybersprint's employees bring a deep understanding of how to continuously model real-time internet data as well as ethical hacking expertise." The company added, "Cybersprint's attack surface management data can enrich existing Darktrace Detect and Respond products with external vulnerability data and accelerate the company's market entry into new areas like proactive AI cyber security. For example, this capability will be introduced as a new module in the Prevent product family, feeding organisation-specific web data to Darktrace's Attack Path Modeling technology."
Boston-based developer-security-platform provider Snyk has acquired Frederick, Maryland-headquartered cloud security and compliance company Fugue. The company stated, "In the near-term, a new Snyk solution will unite and then extend Snyk’s Infrastructure as Code (IaC) and Fugue’s cloud security capabilities, designed specifically with these DevSecOps teams in mind."
Application delivery provider Radware has acquired DDoS protection firm SecurityDAM for $30 million. Both companies are based in Tel Aviv. Radware's President and CEO Roy Zisapel said, "The goal of our initiative is to innovate and scale faster so we can deliver our cloud security capabilities to even more customers" The company also stated, "In addition, Radware plans to grow its innovation center in India, as well as further expand its cloud network footprint and capacity, and its cloud services division, including its technology, operations, and headcount."
Investments and exits.
Ontario-based managed detection and response firm eSentire has raised $325 million "through a binding agreement with Georgian and Caisse de dépot et placement du Québec (CDPQ)." Warburg Pincus will remain the company's majority shareholder. The deal brings the company's valuation to more than $1 billion. eSentire stated, "This investment in eSentire’s future growth marks a major milestone as the firm has surpassed US$100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and plans to scale go-to-market operations across Europe and APAC to meet increasing enterprise demand. Over the next 18 months, eSentire will continue to invest significantly in research and development as it expands its patented Atlas XDR software as a service (SaaS) offering and will hire more than 400 team members globally in all facets of the business, bringing its employee count to over 1000."
Israeli go-to-market-security company CHEQ has raised $150 million in a Series C round led by Tiger Global, with participation from Key1 Capital and existing investors Battery Ventures, Hanaco, and Phoenix Insurance. The company's founder and CEO Guy Tytunovich stated, "CHEQ is moving on to the next phase of its growth – a massive expansion across our key geographies and markets. We’re making Go-to-Market Security ubiquitous, a ‘must have’ function for every organization. To do so, we’re going to be hiring at an even larger scale, and as always, we’re gunning for the best dreamers and builders out there. We’re going to be investing massively in our already world-class Product and R&D departments, to continue to bring more value to our existing (and future) customers. We’re going to invest further in market education, to ensure organizations have the know-how to tackle today’s growing threats and challenges. And finally, we’re going to invest in the future – in building more applications and capabilities that will meet the new challenges that await us around the corner, with the emergence of the Metaverse, Web3, and more."
New York-based multifactor authentication company Beyond Identity has raised $100 million in a Series C round Evolution Equity Partners, with participation from Potentum Partners, Expanding Capital, HBAM, and existing investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Jim Clark. The company stated, "The new funding will be used to further expand Beyond Identity’s research and development and extend the company’s footprint and resources into Asia-Pacific and Latin America. Additionally, the “Father of SSL” and 2019 Marconi Prize recipient Taher Elgamal of Evolution Equity Partners will be joining the Beyond Identity Board of Directors."
Nashville, Tennessee-based IoT security company Phosphorous Cybersecurity has raised $38 million in a Series A round led by SYN Ventures and MassMutual Ventures. The company stated, "The new capital will be used to fuel the company's rapid growth and technology development for its Security of Things™ comprehensive solutions, with a majority of the proceeds to be deployed into engineering talent to fortify its software, enhance the user experience and accelerate inbound demand....The company is also planning additional enhancements to its technology platform, including extended device coverage and more seamless integration with security platforms. Self-service demos and deployment will also be made available in 2022."
San Jose, California-based DevOps-as-a-service provider DuploCloud has raised $15 million in a Series A round led by Mayfield, with participation from existing investor Monta Vista Capital. The company stated, "The new funds will be used to drive product improvements and innovation, expand the sales and marketing teams and enhance the company’s global footprint."
Mobile security company Kryptowire (of McLean, Virginia) has received a growth investment led by US Venture Partners (USVP), with participation from Crosslink Capital. The company says the "funding will be used to accelerate the adoption of intrusion-free mobile security into targeted verticals – including healthcare, financial services and education – and support further product development."
Executive moves.
Houston, Texas-based Colonial Pipeline has hired Adam Tice as Chief Information Security Officer. Tice was previously hired by Equifax as Senior Vice President of Cyber Operations to help build up its security program after the company's 2017 data breach. He most recently "led security operations, detection and response, threat intelligence, and investigations at Silicon Valley Bank."
Redbot Security has promoted Andrew Bindner to Chief Security Officer.
Code42 has appointed Maria Izurieta as Chief Financial Officer. Izurieta previously served as CFO of Expel.
KnowBe4's Co-President and CFO Krish Venkataraman is stepping down, and will join the company's board of directors. Bob Reich will be appointed as the company's new CFO.
Deep Instinct has appointed Mike Saletta as Area Vice President of Americas Channels, Joe Santamorena as Area Vice President of Global MSSP Programs, and Phanneth Wood as Director of Global Distribution.
Comodo has hired Tim Bandos as Executive VP of SOC Services. Bandos previously served as CISO and VP of Managed Security Services at Digital Guardian.
NINJIO has hired Andrew Hahn as its Chief Sales Officer.
Kaspersky has promoted Sandra Lee to Managing Director of the Asia-Pacific, CRN reports. Lee is replacing Chris Connell, who will serve as the company's Vice President of Global Sales Network.
Netskope has appointed Marilyn Miller as Chief People Officer. Miller most recently served as Chief People Officer for Anaplan.
Tidal Cyber has added Jenny Menna and Rick Howard to its board of advisors. Menna currently serves as Vice President of Business Security Risk at Humana, while Howard is Chief Analyst, Chief Security Officer, and Senior Fellow at The CyberWire.