UK-based Darktrace announced late on Wednesday that it has raised $50 million in a Series E funding round that values the company at $1.65 billion.
The latest financing round, which will help Darktrace drive further international expansion and development, was led by Vitruvian Partners with participation from existing investors KKR and 1011 Ventures.
The company has raised a total of nearly $230 million, including $18 million in March 2015, $22.5 million in July 2015, $65 Million in July 2016 and $75 million in July 2017.
Darktrace technology leverages machine learning and AI algorithms to detect cyber threats in cloud, virtual, IoT and industrial environments. The company claims its solutions have self-learning capabilities, allowing them to quickly detect threats, including zero-days and malicious insiders.
The company has more than 30 offices worldwide and 750 employees – the number of employees has increased by 60% in the past year. Bloomberg reported earlier this month that the company expects to have roughly 1,000 employees by the end of the year.
Interestingly, Bloomberg cited Darktrace CEO Nicole Eagan saying that the company had not been pursuing fresh capital.
Darktrace says its technology currently protects over 7,000 networks – including at major airports and global financial institutions – and claims that adoption of its Antigena autonomous response solution has increased by 30% in the last quarter
“Darktrace has built a unique combination of world-class AI capabilities, deep cyber domain expertise, and a highly effective business model,” said Sophie Bower-Straziota, Managing Director at Vitruvian. “This has rapidly created scale and a leading edge over all competitors. Most excitingly, the sophistication and quality of Darktrace’s AI is evidenced by the rapid success of its autonomous response system, Antigena, the first of its kind in the market. We are delighted to be leading this financing round, as Darktrace represents exactly the type of highly innovative company Vitruvian seeks to invest behind and support.”
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