US-based endpoint security software provider Cybereason secured $275m in crossover financing from investors, which included telecoms and internet group Softbank. The round was led by private equity firm Liberty Strategic Capital and also backed by asset manager Neuberger Berman. The valuation of the financing reportedly stood at between $3bn and $3.3bn, according to different sources. Softbank is a returning investor. Cybereason had previously secured $200m in a 2019 series E round backed by unspecified SoftBank affiliates at a $900m valuation. SoftBank had also made a $100m investment two years earlier in a deal that made it the company’s single largest shareholder.
Founded in 2012, Cybereason has built and operates a cloud-based extended detection and response (XDR) platform which uses big data, behavioural analytics and machine learning to identify and thwart attacks, delivering context-rich analysis of malicious operations and improving protection, detection and response. The company plans to use the funding for expanding its product offering, developing new features for its platform and enhancing its cybersecurity tools.
Cybereason is part of the broader cybersecurity tech space, which has seen much attention from corporate investors over the past decade, as the GCV Analytics bar chart below illustrates. The number of corporate-backed deals in this space reached an all-time-high by the end of last year (107), likely propelled by trends like remote working and the emergence of more cyberthreats during the pandemic. It appears that 2021 may be another record year for corporate-backed startups in this space, as over the first six months of this year we have already tracked 77 rounds and record total estimated capital in them of nearly $4bn. The latter suggests that, as in most other areas, valuations in cybersecurity are surging.
