Darktrace, a cyber company that focuses on cyber threat defense software, raised $65 million in new growth equity financing, led by the global investment firm KKR, the company said July 6.
KKR was joined by existing investor Summit Partners and new investors TenEleven Ventures and the Softbank-affiliated SB ISAT Fund.
Darktrace said it will use the new funding to further accelerate the global roll-out of its premier product, the Enterprise Immune System technology.
The company was founded in 2013 and has grown to have over 300 employees, over 600 percent revenue growth in the latest financial year, and over 1,000 customer deployments of the Enterprise Immune System. This product is used by clients in sectors including global financial institutions, telecommunications networks, legal firms, retailers, technology companies, government organizations, and critical national infrastructure facilities.
Darktrace’s founders were mathematicians and machine learning specialists from the University of Cambridge as well as intelligence experts from MI5 and GCHQ.
The company’s services are “capable of identifying new, emerging threats within computer networks in real time including insider attacks, ransomware, machine-based attacks, and unknown threat scenarios,” Darktrace said in a statement.
“Securing the backing of another leading global investor like KKR is an important milestone for Darktrace and a strong validation of the technology we have developed. We chose to partner with KKR because of their unique global network to support our international expansion and rich history of enterprise building in the technology sector,” Nicole Eagan, CEO of Draktrace, said in a statement.
“In addition to KKR, we are excited to work with our new investors TenEleven Ventures and SoftBank who will contribute significant strategic value and knowledge to our team. We are also pleased to have the continued support of Summit Partners, who have been of tremendous help to us since their initial investment,” she added.
“Advancements in cyber security is one of KKR’s core investment themes and Darktrace has established a strong leadership position in the space due to the differentiation of its product – which can detect threats that other cyber solutions fail to identify. We look forward to supporting Darktrace and think that, together with the other investors, we can help management drive significant value for Darktrace over the coming years,” Stephen Shanley, principal on KKR’s technology growth equity team, said.
Darktrace is headquartered in both Cambridge, England and San Francisco.