Shape Security, a US-based cybersecuirty company which came out of stealth mode in January and provides a “botwall” as defence against website attacks, has raised $40m in series C funding led by multi-stage investment firm Norwest Venture Partners, together with Sierra Ventures and existing investors, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Venrock, Google Ventures, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt’s TomorrowVentures, and Allegis Capital. So far, the company has raised $66m in total funding.
Shape Security states that it will use the new funds “to continue to enhance the capabilities of its real-time polymorphic defense and to build a worldwide sales force.” Shape’s flagship product ShapeShifter claims to be “the industry’s first botwall”, using real-time polymorphism to turn websites into constantly moving targets as a defence against malware, botnets and scripts.
Promod Haque, senior managing partner at NVP, said: “Shape is introducing something completely revolutionary to defend against all types of automated attacks that have been the cause of many high-profile breaches in the last year. The company is changing the economics of web hacking by making it harder for cybercriminals to complete their missions. With Shape’s experienced leadership team and its innovative technology, the economic and social impact they will have on the fight against cyber crime is evident and Norwest Venture Partners is excited to be a part of this movement.”
“Shape’s technology is disruptive to the entire cybersecurity market,” said Tim Guleri, managing director of Sierra Ventures. “By preventing the automation which enables malware to function, Shape is able to effectively do with a single technology what others cannot do with a dozen products.”