Cybereason today announced highlights from 2015 that reflect the company's strong momentum and ability to disrupt the cyber-security industry. In 2015, Cybereason quadrupled its headcount and raised $84.4 millionin two funding rounds, each including a customer as both an investor and partner. Cybereason's fundraising efforts helped it become one of the fastest growing cyber-security startups and led to the creation of a new funding model.
"Cybereason super-charges the ability of security teams to defend against cyber threats and significantly reduce security costs," saidAmane Kito, Chief Information Officer of SoftBank Corp. "What makes Cybereason stand out above hundreds of security startups is its transformational approach to cyber security, which leverages machine learning and behavioral analytics to detect and thwart even the most advanced cyber threats."
Cybereason Delivers Consistent, Real-Time Attack Detection
The company's success has been fueled in great part by the ability of its product – the Cybereason Endpoint Detection and Response Platform – to detect attacks in real time, as they unfold. One example of its capabilities was detailed in an October 2015 report "Webmail Server APT: A New Persistent Attack Methodology Targeting Microsoft Outlook Web Application (OWA)". The report went viral and was only one of several attacks the company detected in customer sites over the course of the year. In 2016, Cybereason Labs will publish more case studies that dissect hacking operations detected in customer sites.
"Advanced attacks are now a fact of life, but the damage they cause isn't," said Lior Div. "Over the past year, we have proven time and time again that our approach flips the dynamic of an attack so that our customers are no longer the target, but the hunters. That capability fueled last year's explosive growth, and we are now set for aggressive overseas expansion in 2016."
Cybereason Hacks Traditional Conventions, Pioneers New Funding Model
The constant stream of mega breaches has had many ripple effects – including a flurry of cyber-security investments. Scaling in an environment in which unproven companies were raising hundreds of millions of dollars, Cybereason realized it needed to accelerate its growth while remaining on a focused, controlled track - a seeming contradiction. With a founding team of former Israel Defense Forces hacking experts, Cybereason did what good hackers do when facing a challenge without a solution – it created one.
In May 2015, Cybereason announced it raised $25.4 million in a Series B round that included a strategic investment from one of its customers, Lockheed Martin. The defense contractor decided to both invest and partner with Cybereason after kicking off a 120,000-endpoint deployment of the company's platform. In October, Cybereason announced a $59 million Series C round, led by another customer, the Softbank Group, which also committed to co-developing a joint solution for the Japanese market.
In less than a year, Cybereason raised $84.4 million from investors that included two of its largest customers. In the process, it pioneered a new funding model that offers financial stability, a large war chest for growth, multiple routes-to-market, and a deep-rooted, multifaceted relationship with investors.
Additionally, Cybereason experienced 1,200% revenue growth over 2014, having closed dozens of new deals with customers from among the Global Fortune 500 in the same league as Lockheed Martin and Softbank. It also quadrupled its headcount from 20 to 80 people in 2015, with plans to exceed 150 employees by the end of 2016.
Finally, Cybereason continued to rack up industry accolades, including:
- One of the 10 Most Innovative Companies at RSA Conference 2015
- Bronze winner in the Information Security Product Guide's Global Excellence Awards in the "Tomorrow's Technology Today" category
- One of "Ten disruptive startups worth watching closely in 2016" by Boston Business Journal
- One of Boston's 10 Biggest Tech Fundings of 2015 by BostInno
- Finalist honors in BostInno's 50 on Fire 2015
- One of "16 Boston Tech Companies to Watch in 2016" by BostInno
- "Best Emerging Technology" by SC Magazine Europe
- "Emerging Vendor" by CRN
- "One of the 10 Coolest Security Companies of 2015 (So far)" by CRN
- "Hot 100" finalist by Red Herring
- One of "Nine Israeli companies to watch" by Inc. Magazine
- 2016 Excellence Award finalist by SC Magazine
Download a PDF version of this announcement here.
