Karthik Kannan’s Post

Congratulations to YL Ventures portfolio company Grip Security today for your $41 million Series B #financing round from Third Point LLC, YL Ventures, Intel Capital and others! This, following 400% (!) bookings growth over the past year from Fortune 500 and other companies. Employee count has nearly tripled. So great for us to be partnered with cofounders Lior Yaari, Idan Fast, Alon Shenkler and #team since their #seed round! Read more in TechCrunch: https://lnkd.in/ePi6Pa-V Grip Security is a pioneer in #SaaS #identity #riskmanagement, providing innovative solutions to help #enterprises address the #security #risks associated with widespread SaaS adoption. The company’s SaaS Security Control Plane (SSCP) platform helps companies discover, prioritize, secure and orchestrate the mitigation and #remediation of risks. The innovative approach of leveraging identity as the key control point allows companies to secure all SaaS #applications and empowers enterprises to embrace SaaS adoption securely.

Wow! What a year it's been at Cisco Investments! 🔥 With 8 investments, 9 acquisitions, and 2 more announcements (including the massive $28B Splunk deal), it's safe to say we've been busy! 🏃♀️ Check out our Year in Review to catch up on all the highlights and exciting developments from our team. Curious about any of our portfolio companies or want to learn more about our work - don't hesitate to reach out! 📈 #YearInReview #CiscoInvestments https://hubs.ly/Q02krD350

What Cisco Investments was up to in 2023: - Announced 11 #acquisitions (9 of which closed) - 8 #venturecapital investments - Launched 'CISO Survival Guide 2023' edition with Forgepoint Capital, NightDragon, Team8 Never been a better time for #startups and #entrepreneurs to engage with Cisco. Cisco Security #ciscoinvests #cybersecurity #corporateventurecapital

Lots of noise in the DSPM category... "And Varonis just keeps doing what they do best — building a solid data security platform and scaling their business as a public company, including 17% YoY ARR growth last quarter." Most recently Varonis was recognized with the Customers' Choice distinction in the newest Gartner® report, "Voice of The Customer for Data Security Posture Management," with more verified five-star reviews from customers than any other vendor in this category! 🎉The 4th data security category Varonis is named a leader in. We're honored to provide our customers with automated, measurable outcomes and world-class data security. 🙌 Try the Varonis Data Security Platform for yourself in an hour or less with the industry's best DSPM. #DSPM #Varonis #datasecurity #datasecurityplatform #cloudsecurity

As we continue to mourn the victims and face an ongoing war in Israel, this is not a time for celebration. However, the Israeli tech industry must maintain operational resilience. Palo Alto Networks acquiring Talon Cyber Security (a Team8 portfolio company), in its largest acquisition outside of the US and its second-largest ever, is a critical testament to the trust in the Israeli tech ecosystem, which continues to deliver no matter what. We are proud of Talon's founders, Ofer Ben-Noon and Ohad Bobrov, and all its employees. We are also fortunate for the trust that Palo Alto Networks places in the Israeli high-tech industry, especially during these challenging times. 🔹 Nadav Zafrir & Liran Grinberg, Co-Founders & Managing Partners at Team8: “In 2.5 years, Talon has achieved unprecedented success, including pioneering a new category, winning the most prestigious industry awards, gaining rapid growth with customers and partners worldwide, and securing the highest exit value in Israel’s history for a company under 3 years old. Team8 is proud to take part in Talon's journey, and to work closely with an incredible founding team from inception to an outstanding exit in such a short time. This is another strong testament to the resilience of the Israeli tech ecosystem, which continues to deliver, no matter what”. 🔹 Ofer Ben-Noon, Talon Co-Founder & CEO: “We built Talon to bring powerful last-mile security to leading organizations, addressing the significant customer needs for secure access across all devices - while catering to emerging customer and user preferences for browser-based productivity. Talon’s Enterprise Browser is purpose-built to deliver seamless, familiar user experiences, on top of enterprise-grade protection that goes hand-in-hand with the great security that Prisma SASE offers today. Not only is Palo Alto Networks the ideal partner for us to accelerate our journey, but their commitment to innovation in Israel is inspiring and an excellent match for Talon’s mission of creating the best outcomes possible for customers and our employees.” Special thanks to the rest of our co-investors: Lightspeed, Evolution Equity Partners, SYN Ventures, Ballistic Ventures, Merlin Ventures, Sorenson Ventures, and CrowdStrike. Sarit Firon Hadar Siterman Norris Ori Barzilay Tzlil Grebler Sela Asaf Charnilas Paz Menshes

This graphic I did on the DSPM market is starting to get out of hand! News of another acquisition in this market broke late last week, with Tenable announcing its acquisition of Eureka Security. Here are a few highlights and takeaways for Tenable and the DSPM market: → Tenable is all in on cloud security and CNAPP The message in the transaction announcement was loud and clear — Tenable is serious about its cloud security strategy. Data security was the next piece of the puzzle. The build vs. buy decision here looks pretty straightforward. Data security is a new area for Tenable, so acquiring a product and team with expertise is strategic. There were still high quality early stage targets in the market. The best decision was to buy if they could get the price they wanted. → We've had over $1 billion in DSPM financing and M&A activity Data security companies are well over $500 million in total venture capital raised. With Eureka Security, we've also had 5+ total acquisitions for a cumulative value of $1B+ (some disclosed, and me roughly estimating transaction values for the rest). DSPM has easily been one of the most active markets in the industry, and the race is far from over. → What's going to happen with the rest of the market? Cyera raised a $300 million round earlier this year at a $1.4 billion valuation, so they're playing the long game. Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, IBM, Rubrik, and now Tenable have all done deals already. And Varonis just keeps doing what they do best — building a solid data security platform and scaling their business as a public company, including 17% YoY ARR growth last quarter. --- There are still high quality early stage companies who could raise capital or become acquisition targets yet this year, including several we didn't have on this graphic. We're also going to start seeing which of the strategic buyers emerge as leaders after integrating the product and GTM components of their acquisitions. This was a statement move by Tenable and a clear signal to the industry that they're more than just another vulnerability management company. Congratulations to Eureka, Tenable, and the Altitude Cyber team on a great deal.

At GALLOS Technologies , we look to invest in and innovative companies that are developing cutting-edge solutions to critical security challenges. That's why we're excited to about our follow-on investment in Second Front Systems (2F), a public-benefit software company modernizing technology for national security missions. Our latest investment in Second Front builds on our previous backing of their Series A round, which supported 2F’s expansion into the UK market. As an early supporter of 2F, we've witnessed firsthand their impressive growth and impact in revolutionizing government technology practices. Second Front’s Game Warden DevSecOps platform is a prime example, bridging the gap between the public and private sectors to accelerate the delivery of secure, enterprise-level software capabilities. With follow-on capital from GALLOS and other existing investors along with new investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Booz Allen Hamilton Ventures, 2F can continue enhancing Game Warden and expanding their footprint into strategic allied markets like Australia and NATO. We couldn't be more thrilled to continue supporting their mission. At GALLOS Ventures, our goal is to back the most promising companies developing innovative security solutions. We provide early-stage funding along with operational, technical, and strategic support to help our portfolio companies scale. 2F exemplifies the type of company we look for - leveraging cutting-edge technology and public-private sector collaboration to solve major security challenges. Their leadership team brings a wealth of national security experience that informs their unique approach. As they expand globally, our investment will help 2F deliver their software capabilities to new mission-critical environments. We look forward to leveraging our expertise and network to accelerate their growth into new markets. The security landscape continues to evolve rapidly with emerging threats worldwide. That's why supporting innovative companies like 2F that are modernizing technology for national security is so important. We're proud to continue backing their work revolutionizing how innovative software is securely deployed to government. With their impressive momentum, we're confident 2F will continue leading the way in bridging the public and private sectors to confront shared security challenges. Joshua Burch Dean Jones Tyler Sweatt Enrique Oti Drew Podgorski Jack Pearson Mark G. Olivia Mills Natasha K. John Rainey Chris Martin #venturecapital #ATO #governmentinnovation #innovation #2F #secondfront #publicsector #defensetech

Cybersecurity M&A is on the rise, and recent notable deals are reshaping the industry landscape. Analysts are predicting a surge in M&A activity for 2024, fueled by lower startup valuations and robust corporate balance sheets. M&A is gaining traction due to borrowing costs and reduced venture funding, which are making acquisitions more appealing for startups. It's a game-changer for enterprises, as deals enable them to scale innovation, access new markets, and stay competitive by acquiring top technologies and talent. Successful deals are able to drive revenue growth, market expansion, and establish companies as industry leaders. However, integration requires careful planning in order to navigate challenges such as cultural clashes and underfunding. Supporting M&A activity is crucial for supporting broader innovation, which benefits companies, consumers, and investors alike by bringing new technologies to market. Check out this article from Nasdaq for more - https://lnkd.in/g-8eaMSz #mergersandacquisitions #cybersecurity #businessgrowth #innovation #venturecapital #foleyforward #garage2global Foley & Lardner LLP

Issue #136 of Security, Funded is out and here is a snapshot: - 8 companies raised $127.1M across 6 unique product categories in 1 country - 4 companies were acquired or had a merger event across 4 unique product categories - 100% of funding went to product-based cybersecurity businesses A few fundings highlights include: - BigID raised $60.0M from Riverwood Capital - Finite State raised $21.0M from Riverside Acceleration Capital - LeakSignal raised $1.6M from Shasta Ventures On the M&A side: - GitLab acquired Oxeye - JumpCloud acquired Resmo (acquired by JumpCloud) - Synopsys Inc acquired Intrinsic ID Get the full issue here: https://lnkd.in/ezFsWysC From early-stage startups to public titans, from operational realities to economic undercurrents - Return on Security meticulously tracks, analyzes, and connects the dots that others miss. We are decoding cybersecurity's economic frontier. #ReturnOnSecurity #SecurityFunded Mike Privette

Collaboration is so important for economic growth and American security. Check out what Brian T MacCarthy is talking about.