💰 Security, Funded #60 - The Password Manager Funding Starter Pack™️

Hey there,

I hope you had a great weekend!

A short work week for the US with Labor Day, but lots of action still happened.

To all my friends in the UK, or to anyone who was impacted by Queen Elizabeth II's passing, I am sorry for your loss. 🇬🇧❤️

In this week's issue:

• Zscaler made a big splash in earnings
• Funding and acquisition volume is back up
• The Password Manager Funding Starter Pack™️

Zscaler ($ZS) earnings report dropped this past Thursday and it was a big splash. They had a blowout quarter with 61% YoY revenue growth bringing in $318.1M, beating analysts expectations.

Let's dive in.

📊 Market News

• Israeli startups raise mega rounds amid recession (more)
• North America sees hiring jump in medical industry cybersecurity roles (more)
• Darktrace stock got clapped as deal with Thoma Bravo collapsed (more)

💰 Funding Summary

• 14 companies raised $419.2M across 12 unique product categories
• 7 companies were acquired or had a merger event across 3 unique product categories for $1.8M

🧩 Funding by Product Category

• $100.0M for Identity and Access Management (IAM)
• $70.0M for Breach & Attack Simulation (BAS)
• $66.4M for Continuous Compliance
• $40.0M for Managed Detection and Response (MDR)
• $40.0M for Cloud Workload Protection Platform (CWPP)
• $22.0M for Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP)
• $22.0M for Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) Security
• $21.0M for Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)
• $20.0M for Data Security Posture Management (DSPM)
• $10.8M for Identity Verification
• $6.0M for Software Supply Chain Security
• $1.0M for Application Security

🗣️ SPONSOR

🏢 Funding By Company

• Bitwarden, an open-source password management platform, raised a $100.0M Series B from PSG. (more)
• Cymulate, a breach and attack simulation (BAS) platform, raised a $70.0M Series D from One Peak Partners.
• Reciprocity, a continuous compliance platform, raised a $60.0M Private Equity Round from Francisco Partners. (more)
• Huntress, a managed detection and response (MDR) platform, raised a $40.0M Debt Financing Round from CIBC Innovation Banking. (more)
• Isovalent, a network security and observability platform for Kubernetes deployments, raised a $40.0M Series B from Thomvest. (more)
• Naoris Protcol, a distributed ledger technology (DLT) security protocol supporting decentralized identity and privacy of Web3, raised a $22.0M Venture Round from BPMT Trading Ltd and Holdun Family Office. (more)
• SaaS Alerts, a managed security services provider (MSSP), raised a $22.0M Venture Round from Insight Partners. (more)
• SteelEye, a governance, risk, and regulatory compliance reporting platform , raised a $21.0M Series B from Ten Coves Capital. (more)
• Open Raven, a data security posture management (DSPM) platform, raised a $20.0M Series B from Kleiner Perkins, Upfront Ventures, and Pelion Venture Partners. (more)
• Evident, an identity verification for the insurance market, raised a $10.8M Venture Round.
• HyperComply, a security and compliance automation platform, raised a $6.4M Seed from Golden Ventures and FirstMark Capital. (more)
• CodeNotary, a software supply chain security platform, raised a $6.0M Series B. (more)
• Kondukto, an application security orchestration platform, raised a $1.0M Seed from ScaleX Ventures.
• Hornetsecurity, a managed email security services company, raised a Private Equity Round from TA Associates. (more)

🤝 Mergers & Acquisitions

• Adaptera, a professional services firm focused on IT automation and security, was acquired by Performance Technologies for $1.8M. (more)
• coordinates, a managed security services provider (MSSP), was acquired by Gulf Business Machines for an undisclosed amount. (more)
• Cyberprotect, a managed security services provider (MSSP), was acquired by Adista for an undisclosed amount.
• Emtec, an IT and security professional services firm, was acquired by Kelso & Company for an undisclosed amount. (more)
• Identify3D, a data protection company focused on securing digital manufacturing, was acquired by Materialise for an undisclosed amount. (more)
• Interphase Systems, an IT and security professional services firm, was acquired by Magna5 for an undisclosed amount. (more)
• NLT, a managed security services provider (MSSP), was acquired by Cerberus Sentinel for an undisclosed amount. (more)

🔐 Secure The Job

If you're looking for new opportunities (actively or passively), I've got two ways to help:

• Return on Security Job Board - Browse the jobs I curate each week and apply for what matches your interests.
• Return on Security Talent Collective - If you're open to hearing about new opportunities, apply to my talent collective to get personally matched with high-growth, high-upside opportunities. You can join publicly or anonymously, and leave anytime. And it's completely free for candidates.

Are you hiring? Post a role or request access to start meeting world class candidates open to new opportunities. Learn more or request access here.

📆 Special Events

I'm on the CISO advisory board for DataTribe and they are a top-notch group, so you won't want to miss this if you're raising funds.

📚 Great Reads

• How to hire and build your cybersecurity team - Netflix’s former InfoSec leader Jason Chan offers early stage founders six "green flags" to look out for when hiring and building cybersecurity teams that truly make an impact.
• The Cyber Inspiration Podcast - A new podcast from Evgeniy Kharam that explores the minds of CTOs and CEOs when they started their cyber security company.
• Some MSPs struggle to sell cybersecurity services - MSPs struggling to sell cybersecurity might consider positioning such offerings as a necessary expense akin to taxes -- and acknowledge clients would prefer to invest elsewhere.

You can see the full list of curated posts across all issues here, and you can submit an article, post, tweet, or video here and it can show up in the newsletter!

🧪 Labs

I revamped the referral rewards for the newsletter to include new items and discounts from the Return on Security Shop like this 👇

Oliver Legg on LinkedIn: #cybersecurity #returnonsecurity #securityfunded

We do love some Friday swag at Aspiron Search Thanks for the tee’s Mike Privette and Return on Security 🤟 #cybersecurity #returnonsecurity #securityfunded...

LinkedInOliver Legg

👋 Thanks

Have questions, comments, or feedback about this issue? I'd love to hear from you. Reach out on Twitter or reply directly to the newsletter version of this issue.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers,

Mike P