UK cybersecurity firm Darktrace has raised an additional $50m in Series E funding at a valuation of $1.65bn.
The investment was led by Vitruvian Partners with participation from existing investors KKR and 1011 Ventures.
“Darktrace continues to enjoy strong growth in new and existing geographies, and is now the most widely used Enterprise AI on the market,” said Darktrace CEO, Nicole Eagan.
“The increase in our valuation in just a few months is testament to the fundamental power of our Enterprise Immune System. As we begin to see real-world attacks leveraging offensive AI, Darktrace will be indispensable in keeping defenders one step ahead.”
Darktrace says its proprietary response technology Darktrace Antigena responds within two seconds to the earliest signs of threat and that its adoption has increased by 30% in the last quarter.
Since its last round, Darktrace claims to have more than doubled its number of deployments and is now finding threats in more than 7,000 networks.
The company’s roster of customers includes eight major international airports including London Gatwick Airport and Milan-Bergamo Orio Al Serio International Airport and the Science Museum Group.
Employee headcount has increased by 60% in the past year, now standing at over 750 employees worldwide.
Darktrace has opened eight new offices over the past 12 months including locations in Los Angeles, Mexico City and São Paulo as well as tripling the size of its Asian headquarters in Singapore.
The latest tranche of funding will drive further international expansion and development.
Sophie Bower-Straziota, managing director at Vitruvian, said: “Darktrace has built a unique combination of world-class AI capabilities, deep cyber domain expertise, and a highly effective business model. 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.”
Stephen Shanley, director at KKR, went on to note; “We continue to be impressed by the speed of execution and innovation at Darktrace. Over the past two years of our partnership, we have seen Darktrace evolve from a promising startup to a clear leader in the global security market. We are very happy to be participating in this round and look forward to continuing to support Darktrace moving forward.”
Alex Doll, Founder of 1011 Ventures, concluded: “Darktrace is on its way to becoming a true security platform – successfully expanding from its pioneering role in network security, into cloud and email, the company has now demonstrated its ability to apply its core AI technology to multiple adjacent market segments.”