Venture capital firm YL Ventures has sold its $270m stake in Israel-based cybersecurity management software provider Axonius to investors including DTCP, the investment manager backed by telecommunications firm Deutsche Telekom.
Axonius is the creator of a cybersecurity asset management platform that enables customers to compile an inventory of all their IT security products and tools, ensuring they are all validated and making sure their entire organisation is covered.
The company raised $100m in series D funding last week at a reported $1.2bn valuation, and YL Ventures sold its entire stake to buyers that also included Iconiq Growth, Alkeon Capital and Harmony Partners at the same valuation.
YL Ventures had initially led a $4m seed round for Axonius in 2017 that also featured Vertex Ventures and Emerge Capital. All three returned in a $13m series A in February 2019 that was led by Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) and also backed by Western Technology Investment (WTI).
OpenView Venture Partners led the company’s $20m series B round six months later, investing alongside YL Ventures, BVP Vertex, WTI and Emerge.
Lightspeed Venture Partners, OpenView, BVP, YL Ventures, Vertex and WTI added $58m in series C funding in March 2020. The series D round was led by growth equity firm Stripes and also featured BVP, OpenView, Lightspeed and Vertex.
Axonius co-founder and chief executive Dean Sysman said: “The transition from early-stage to late-stage investors just makes sense as we drive toward IPO, and it allows each investor to focus on what they do best.”
