US-based cloud security software developer Aqua Security closed a $135m series E round on Wednesday that included software producer Microsoft’s corporate venturing unit, M12, valuing it above $1bn.
Technology investment firm Ion Crossover Partners led the round, which featured all the company’s existing investors, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Insight Partners, TLV Partners, Greenspring Associates and Acrew Capital.
Aqua’s software enables large businesses to secure extensive cloud operations, preventing and detecting cyberattacks and automating responses. It will use the series E proceeds to expand internationally and grow its product range.
The company’s overall funding now exceeds $265m and the round came in the wake of a $30m series D led by Greenspring Associates in May 2020 with backing from Insight Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and TLV Partners.
Insight Partners led Aqua’s $62m series C round in April 2019, investing alongside M12, Lightspeed Venture Partners, TLV Ventures and Shlomo Kramer, the four investors that had provided it with $25m in series B funding two years earlier.
M12 had already led a $9m series A round for the company in 2016, participating together with existing backers TLV Partners and Shlomo Kramer.
Dror Davidoff, Aqua’s co-founder and CEO, said: “We have shown that our research and development teams are ahead of the market with the launch of innovative products such as Aqua DTA, our new Kubernetes Security Posture Management and the Aqua CSPM solution.
“As attacks targeting cloud native applications are now a fast-growing threat, we are here to empower our customers to protect their investment and secure their future in the cloud.”
