💰 Security, Funded #128 - Cyber IPO Watch 2024 👀

Hey there,

Happy Monday, and I hope you had a great weekend! In this issue, we’ve got:

• 🧙‍♀️ CISO Insights

• 🔮 IPO Speculation

• 🔭 Cyber M&A Outlooks

• 🤖 Impacts of AI on Society & the Internet

IPO market unlock rumors continue to heat up ☄️ as the year presses on.

In a market like this, no one really wants to go first. No one really wants to see a previously high valuation get right-sized with how the last two years went and see their stock prices drop from previous hopes and dreams. But at the same time, some of these same companies are feeling the burn of IPO or Bust ❤️‍🔥.

The startups most likely feeling this are those that raised north of the $1-2B valuation range in the last few years. Formed too late to enjoy the “stocks only go up” days of cyber from 2010 - 2020. Formed too early to have other companies go first and shake out investor expectations in public markets after massive interest rate hikes. Formed just in time to see generative AI shift entire business models and see their margins shrink in an increasingly competitive market with only 2-3x valuation multiples. 😔 

Onward to this week's issue.

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_{*Typo in the poll that I can’t fix after it’s published - it should say Snyk, not “Synk”}

Last issue’s vibe check:
What will cybersecurity acquisitions in 2024 look like?

🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🥹 It will decrease again (8)
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ 🥶 It will stay flat (16)
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 🤑 We will be so back (18)
42 Votes

Most people last week said they believed cyber M&A activity will be either on par in 2023 or will get back on an upward trajectory. I think, at a minimum, we will have more companies this year who won’t be able to weather all of 2024 to get acquired as their lifelines run out. Remember, not all acquisitions are a good thing for all parties involved, and some don’t even make sense on paper (see HP buying Juniper a few weeks ago). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

📸 YoY Snapshot

A rolling 12-week chart to compare funding and acquisitions each week in a year-over-year (YoY) view between 2023 and 2024.

As this is a new year, this chart will be building over the next 12 weeks and then roll forward.

The overall volume of funding transactions remains lower in 2024 than this time last year, but the money in 2024 is outpacing 2023 so far. At four weeks into 2023, there was ~$797.0M from 35 transactions, and at four weeks into 2024, we just cruised past ~$900M from 33 transactions. We’re well on our way to our first billi of the year (like Lil Wayne says “a milli”).

Acquisitions, on the other hand, while we still have less volume so far than in 2023, the M&A that is happening (and the rumors of what’s to come) are far from insignificant.

💰 Market Summary

• 12 companies raised $233.1M across 12 unique product categories

• 3 companies were acquired or had a merger event across 2 unique product categories

🧩 Funding By Product Category

• $116.0M for Identity and Access Management (IAM) across 1 deal

• $44.0M for Internet of Things (IoT) Security across 1 deal

• $42.0M for Security Orchestration and Automated Response (SOAR) across 1 deal

• $14.0M for Brand Protection across 1 deal

• $5.0M for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Privacy Assurance across 1 deal

• $4.6M for Threat Intelligence across 1 deal

• $3.3M for Security and Compliance Automation across 1 deal

• $1.6M for Software Composition Analysis (SCA) across 1 deal

• $1.6M for Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Security across 1 deal

• $1.0M for Network Detection and Response (NDR) across 1 deal

• $31.0K for Threat Detection and Response (TDR) across 1 deal

• An undisclosed amount for Professional Services across 1 deal

🏢 Funding By Company

• Silverfort, an Israel-based agentless authentication and identity verification platform, raised a $116.0M Series D from Brighton Park Capital. (more)

• Bastille Networks Internet Security, a United States-based Internet of Things (IoT) threat detection platform, raised a $44.0M Series C from Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s (GSAM) Petershill Program. (more)

• Torq, a United States-based no-code automation platform for security and ops teams, raised a $42.0M Series B from Bessemer Venture Partners. (more)

• Doppel, a United States-based brand identity and risk protection platform, raised a $14.0M Series A from Andreessen Horowitz. (more)

• Prompt Security, a United States-based browser extension platform protecting against sensitive data usage and attacks in generative AI applications, raised a $5.0M Seed from Hetz Ventures. (more)

• Heal Security, a United States-based threat intelligence platform focused on the healthcare and medical IT device sector, raised a $4.6M Pre-Seed from Health2047. (more)

• Naq, a Netherlands-based security and compliance automation platform for healthcare operations, raised a $3.3M Venture Round from No Such Ventures. (more)

• Coana, a Denmark-based software composition analysis (SCA) platform, raised a $1.6M Pre-Seed from Sequoia Capital. (more)

• KEKKAI, a Japan-based risk management platform for cryptocurrency transactions and wallets, raised a $1.6M Seed from Bixin Ventures. (more)

• Guard Dog Solutions, a United States-based network detection and response (NDR) platform, raised a $1.0M Venture Round. (more)

• Appremon, a United States-based threat detection and response (TDR) platform, raised a $31.0K Pre-Seed.

• Consortium Networks, a United States-based professional services firm focused on cyber incident response and risk assessments, raised an undisclosed Private Equity Round from M/C Partners. (more)

🌎 Funding By Country

• $116.0M for Israel across 1 deal

• $110.6M for the United States across 8 deals

• $3.3M for The Netherlands across 1 deal

• $1.6M for Denmark across 1 deal

• $1.6M for Japan across 1 deal

🤝 Mergers & Acquisitions

• Security Shift, an Australia-based managed security services provider (MSSP), was acquired by 5G Networks for $4.0M. (more)

• HoganTaylor Technology, a United States-based managed security services provider (MSSP) of the accounting firm HoganTaylor, was acquired by Staley Technologies for an undisclosed amount. (more)

• Onclave Networks, a United States-based operational technology (OT) security platform, was acquired by Option3 for an undisclosed amount. (more)

📚 Great Reads

• Cybersecurity In 2024: Startling Insights from Over 1000+ CISOs - Francis Odum from The Software Analyst shares insights from CISO surveys by Morgan Stanley, Lightspeed Ventures, and others, and uncovers cybersecurity trends and spending forecasts for 2024.

• Regretful Accelerationism - This post highlights the growing disconnect between the physical and online worlds, emphasizing the impacts of AI and the Internet on society, content creation, and human interaction. If you're a fan of the book "Ready Player One," this will be a good read.

• Leadership Transitions - 10 Steps for Success - This post from Phil Venables outlines strategies for successful leadership transitions, whether in new roles or within an organization, emphasizing patience, understanding the culture, promoting new ideas, and more. 

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🧪 Labs