At a glance.
- Chainguard raises $140 million in Series C round.
- Cowbell Cyber secures $60 million.
Investments and exits.
Kirkland, Washington-based open-source software security firm Chainguard has raised $140 million in a Series C round led by Redpoint Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and IVP, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Spark Capital, and Mantis VC. The company stated, "Now valued at $1.12 billion, the company is making investments to expand its Chainguard Images product offering to safeguard emerging technologies like AI workloads. The company is also expanding go-to-market operations in international markets and growing its Federal business to service more customers looking to meet compliance requirements for software security."
Pleasanton, California-based cyber insurance firm Cowbell has secured $60 million in a Series C equity investment from Zurich Insurance Group. The company stated, "With the $60 million investment, Cowbell plans to scale operations to meet growing demand, extend its presence in key international markets, bolster cyber resilience services, introduce new cutting-edge products to the market, and further strengthen strategic partnerships. Leveraging existing advances in AI and GenerativeAI (GenAI), the company aims to expand its technological infrastructure to drive further efficiencies and support expedited policyholder and broker decision-making across traditional, digital and API-driven channels."
New York City-headquartered identity security and governance startup Linx Security has emerged from stealth with $33 million in funding led by Index Ventures and Cyberstarts, with participation from Cerca Partners, Knollwood Investment Advisory, and angel investors.
Santa Clara, California-based zero-trust security firm Axiad has raised $25 million in private equity funding from Invictus Growth Partners. The company says the funding "will be used primarily to fuel product development innovation, hire additional top talent, bolster sales and marketing efforts, and aid in the company's journey to achieve Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP®) Authority to Operate (ATO)."
Lakera, a Swiss company that provides security for generative AI applications, has raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Atomico, with participation from Citi Ventures, Dropbox, and existing investors. The company stated, "With this funding round, we will accelerate our product development and go-to-market strategy. Our presences in the US and Europe, particularly in our San Francisco and Zurich offices, will significantly expand to address market demand."
Saratoga, California-headquartered software supply chain security company Lineaje has raised $20 million in a Series A round led by Prosperity7 Ventures, Neotribe, Hitachi Ventures, and Tenable Ventures, with participation from Carahsoft, Wipro Ventures, Secure Octane Investments, J-Ventures and Alumni Ventures. The company says it "will leverage the new investment to accelerate customer acquisition and fortify its AI-powered platform, expanding its innovative BOMbots insights and introducing new advancements to autonomously resolve software supply chain issues."
Irvine, California-based connected device security startup ZeroTier has raised $13.5 million in Series A round led by Battery Ventures, with participation from Bonfire Ventures, Anorak Ventures, Grand Enterprises B.V., Airbridge Equity Partners, First In Ventures, and 7percent Ventures. The company says the funding "will be used to fund ongoing innovation and product development, as well as the geographic expansion of operations to support the company's strong global growth trajectory."
Canadian cybersecurity startup Protexxa has secured $10 million in a Series A round led by Bell Ventures, Bell Canada, and Sandpiper Ventures, with participation from BKR Capital, Export Development Canada, The Firehood Angels, and Graphite Ventures. The company stated, "The new capital will fuel engineering and data science innovations on the platform, and grow its sales and marketing teams as it expands further into global markets. Looking to the United States as its next major opportunity, the company is already seeing demand for its enterprise solution among financial, telecommunications, and healthcare institutions where security concerns are mounting."
Israeli non-human identity security platform provider Clutch Security has emerged from stealth with $8.5 million in seed funding led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, with participation from Merlin Ventures and angel investors.
Bethesda, Maryland-based application security company Heeler Security has raised $8.5 million in seed funding led by Norwest Venture Partners, with participation from Storm Ventures.
Austin, Texas-headquartered identity and access management startup Evo Security has secured $6 million in a Series A round led by TechOperators, with participation from Sorenson Capital, Prelude, Strategic Cyber Ventures, Inner Loop Capital, and MetroSITE Group. The company says the funding "will enable Evo Security to accelerate its growth, enhance its consolidated product offerings, and expand market presence."
Menlo Park, California-based generative AI safety startup Vijil has emerged from stealth with $6 million in seed funding from Mayfield's AIStart seed fund and Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused seed fund.
AI application security company Promptfoo has raised $5 million in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz.
New York-based cloud security startup ZEST Security has emerged from stealth with $5 million in seed funding from Hanaco Ventures, Silvertech Ventures, and angel investors.
Executive moves.
Securonix has appointed Kash Shaikh as President and CEO. Shaikh previously served as President and CEO of Virtana.
Deltek has promoted Margo Martin to Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer and appointed Becca Harness as Vice President and CISO.
Cyware has named Terrence Driscoll as CISO.
Intrado has appointed Charles Gifford as VP of Information Security.