Cisco Investments, the corporate venturing division of networking equipment manufacturer Cisco, and venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners co-led a $30m series C round on Tuesday for US-based cybersecurity technology producer Exabeam.
Norwest Venture Partners, the VC firm managing funds on behalf of financial services firm Wells Fargo, also contributed capital, as did VC firms Aspect Ventures and Icon Ventures, and angel investor Shlomo Kramer.
Incorporated in 2013, Exabeam has developed a platform that analyses user behaviour to detect anomalies that indicate imminent cyberattacks. The technology aims to thwart attacks exploiting stolen or misused credentials, which account for the majority of cyberthreats.
The series C funding will support continued growth. Ravi Mhatre, partner at Lightspeed, will join Exabeam’s board of directors.
Icon Ventures led a $25m series B round for Exabeam in 2015 that also included Norwest, Aspect and Shlomo Kramer. Norwest had previously led Exabeam’s $10m series A round in 2014, with participation from Aspect and Kramer.
Rob Salvagno, head of Cisco Investments and vice-president of corporate development at Cisco, said: “Exabeam’s behavioural analytics is a powerful tool that helps companies prioritise and focus on the most damaging threats they face.
“We are excited to become an investor in a company that shares our mission of reducing time to detection and helping customers respond to security threats more effectively.”
Nir Polak, co-founder and chief executive of Exabeam, added: “Exabeam is growing quickly and I am excited to add both Ravi’s expertise in building enterprise software companies and Cisco’s breadth and depth in the security market.
“This investment – and the additional expertise and partnership it brings – provides even greater support to take Exabeam to the next level.”