TenEleven Ventures, SoftBank-affiliated Fund Also Join Existing
Investors Invoke Capital and Summit Partners
SAN FRANCISCO & CAMBRIDGE, England–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Darktrace, a provider of enterprise cyber threat defense software,
announced today that it has raised new growth equity financing, led by
KKR, a leading global investment firm, with participation from existing
investor Summit Partners, and new investors TenEleven Ventures and
SoftBank-affiliated SB ISAT Fund. Invoke Capital first identified
Darktrace’s differentiated approach to cybersecurity threats and funded
Darktrace in 2013, providing operational expertise since. Darktrace will
use the funds to further accelerate the global roll-out of its
award-winning Enterprise Immune System technology.
As cyber threats increase and attackers become more sophisticated it is
clear that a new approach is needed. Using advanced mathematics and
machine learning techniques based on the biological principles of the
human immune system, Darktrace addresses the challenge of detecting and
responding to cyber threats that evade existing solutions. Named ‘Best
Security Company of the Year’ 2016, Darktrace is capable of identifying
new, emerging threats within computer networks in real time including
insider attacks, ransomware, machine-based attacks, and unknown threat
scenarios.
Founded in 2013, Darktrace has grown rapidly to 300 employees and has
achieved over 600% revenue growth in its latest financial year. With
over 1,000 customer deployments, Darktrace’s Enterprise Immune System
has been selected by some of the largest and most sensitive cyber
security environments, including global financial institutions,
telecommunications networks, legal firms, retailers, technology
companies, government organizations, and critical national
infrastructure facilities. Darktrace’s innovative technology has led the
company to be named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum and
a Winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation.
Nicole Eagan, CEO of Darktrace, commented: “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. 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. With such
a group of world-class investors we have an incredibly strong base to
realize our full potential.”
Stephen Shanley, Principal on KKR’s Technology Growth Equity team,
added: “We are highly impressed by the Darktrace team and the uniqueness
of the product they have built. 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.”
Han Sikkens, Managing Director at Summit Partners added: “Darktrace has
shown outstanding technology innovation and sales momentum since we
partnered with them. Its Enterprise Immune System technology has been
adopted by some of the most respected and cyber-conscious companies the
world over and we believe it serves as a crucial element of these
organizations’ cyber security operations. We are delighted to continue
to be a part of Darktrace’s ongoing success.”
– ends –
About Darktrace
Winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation 2016, Darktrace
is one of the world’s leading cyber threat defense companies. Its
Enterprise Immune System technology detects and responds to previously
unidentified threats, powered by machine learning and mathematics
developed by specialists from the University of Cambridge. Without using
rules or signatures, Darktrace is uniquely capable of understanding the
‘pattern of life’ of every device, user and network within an
organization, and defends against evolving threats that bypass all other
systems. Some of the world’s largest corporations rely on Darktrace’s
self-learning technology in sectors including energy and utilities,
financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing,
retail and transportation. Darktrace is headquartered in Cambridge, UK
and San Francisco, with global offices including New York, Auckland,
London, Milan, Mumbai, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto and
Washington D.C.
About KKR
KKR is a leading global investment firm that manages investments across
multiple asset classes including private equity, energy, infrastructure,
real estate, credit and hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive
investment returns by following a patient and disciplined investment
approach, employing world‐class people, and driving growth and value
creation at the asset level. KKR invests its own capital alongside its
partners’ capital and brings opportunities to others through its capital
markets business. References to KKR’s investments may include the
activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR
& Co. L.P. (NYSE:KKR), please visit KKR’s website at www.kkr.com and
on Twitter @KKR_Co.
About Summit Partners
Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a global growth equity firm that is
currently investing more than $7.2 billion into equity and fixed income
opportunities. Summit has invested in more than 430 companies in
technology, healthcare and other growth sectors. These companies have
completed more than 135 public offerings, and more than 160 have been
acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Notable technology
companies financed by Summit Partners include Avast, Arista Networks,
Flow Traders, Infor, McAfee, NetWitness, Postini, RiskIQ, SafeBoot and
WebEx. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe, and invests
in companies around the world. For more information, visit www.summitpartners.com or
follow on Twitter at @SummitPartners.
About Invoke Capital
Invoke Capital identifies world-leading technologies emerging across
Europe through the private sector and university channels. Founded by
successful entrepreneurs, Invoke helps productise and bring fundamental
technologies to the market. Dedicated to accelerating the growth of
early-stage companies, it is the only investment team in Europe with a
dedicated, in-house R&D division, based in Cambridge, UK. The Invoke
team has grown multiple technology businesses and has an interest in
developing technologies in areas including genomics, security, pattern
recognition, signal processing and big data.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160706005492/en/
KKR:
Finsbury
Victor Mallet
Phone:
+44(0)20 7251 3801
Email: victor.mallet@finsbury.com
or
Darktrace
UK:
Text100
Clare Fenny
Phone: +44 7587
036 907
Email: clare.fenny@text100.com
or
Darktrace
USA:
Edelman
David Whiting
Phone: +1 (212)
277-3808
Email: david.whiting@edelman.com
or
Darktrace
Singapore:
Edelman
Nicholas Tan
Phone: +65
9663 8358
Email: nicholas.tan@edelman.com
Source: KKR