Darktrace Gains Further VC Funding To Hit $100m Valuation

Cambridge-based cyber-security firm has secured a further round of venture capital funding that pushes its valuation to around $100m (£64m).

The company has announced that venture capitalist Summit Partners has supplied $22.5m (£14.4m) in Series B funding that comes just months after it raised $18m (£11.5m) to expand in the region Asia-Pacific. T

The new funding will apparently be used to fuel growth again in Asia Pacific region and the United States.

Immune System

Darktrace is perhaps best known for its ‘Enterprise Immune System‘, which can detect all kinds of threat present on a network and provides real time data to organisations allowing them to better understand the nature of attacks and to mitigate the actions of the attackers.

Darktrace’s Enterprise Immune System technology uses machine learning techniques based on the biological principles of the human immune system. In March this year BT announced it would offer Darktrace’s ‘Enterprise Immune System’ to customers through BT Assure managed security services. It also said it would use the technology bolster its own defences from threats.

The cyber-security firm is backed by former Autonomy CEO Dr Mike Lynch, as it was one of his first investments after he resigned from HP in 2012 amid acrimonious allegations over the Autonomy purchase.

Urgent Need

“Darktrace is reinventing the way organisations protect their data and assets, with a truly differentiated solution developed by some of the leading minds in machine learning and mathematics,” said Antony Clavel, a VP with Summit Partners.

“Darktrace’s core Enterprise Immune System technology responds to an urgent need for more advanced cyber security, given the volume and complexity of today’s cyber threats.”

“We are delighted to be working with Summit Partners, an investor with deep experience in the security sector, as we continue to rapidly grow our business,” said Nicole Eagan, CEO of Darktrace.

“This is yet another validation of our machine-learning and mathematics approach, and will enable us to maintain a fast pace of innovation, and pursue our vision of bringing the Enterprise Immune System to the heart of cyber defense strategies today.”

Meanwhile, speaking to Reuters, Lynch also confirmed that there has been little progress in the legal proceedings between HP and the former management team of Autonomy.

“It’s moving at a speed that make a glacier look like it’s been taking anabolic steroids,” was quoted as saying.

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