Claroty, a provider of cybersecurity solutions for industrial control networks, has raised $60 million in Series B funding.
The round was led by Singapore’s state-run investment firm Temasek Holdings, and joined by investors such as Rockwell Automation, Aster Capital (sponsored by Schneider Electric), Next47 (created by Siemens), Envision Ventures, and Tekfen Ventures. Existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Team8, Innovation Endeavors, and ICV all participated in the round as well.
This funding brings total investment in the company, which was founded in 2014 and exited stealth late in 2016, to $93 million.
“Our unparalleled investor syndicate, which includes some of the most important industrial companies in the world, is a ringing endorsement of Claroty’s technology and the progress our team has made,” said Amir Zilberstein, Co-founder and CEO of Claroty. “Our mission is to protect the most critical networks on the planet and our comprehensive platform provides our customers with the capabilities they need to accomplish this vitally important task.”
The serious threat posed by the security (or lack thereof) of the Internet of Things, and – as Claroty stresses – of old and insecure industrial control systems becoming connected to networks without proper protection, has been brought into the spotlight over the past year.
The recent increase in scale, scope, and frequency of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure has led to an uptick in demand for new solutions from companies around the world
– T. J. Rylander, Partner, Next47
Claroty’s platform focuses on providing visibility into industrial networks and combines secure remote access with continuous monitoring for threats and vulnerabilities, providing protection to at-risk systems. The crippling effect of cyberattacks on ICS networks and the potential risk to critical national infrastructure were highlighted by ransomware attacks such as WannaCry and NotPetya which, as well as costing companies billions in losses, caused chaos in the NHS. And though the effect on the NHS may not have been a targeted attack, these too are an area which has seen significant growth, including several attributed to nation-state attackers.
While that in itself is a bad thing, it has at least resulted in increasing awareness of and investment in securing ICS networks and the IoT. That’s good news for Claroty, which has seen a 300% year-over-year growth in bookings and customer base.
“The recent increase in scale, scope, and frequency of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure has led to an uptick in demand for new solutions from companies around the world,” said T.J. Rylander, Partner at Next47. “Claroty has the team, technology, and market traction to deliver the kind of lasting impact that we are looking for at Next47.”
Frank Kulaszewicz, SVP, Architecture & Software at Rockwell Automation, added: “Protecting the critical automation systems our customers operate against cyberattacks remains a top priority for the company. Claroty has been a partner since 2016 and their advanced technology is a key element of our real-time threat detection and monitoring service. Our investment in Claroty is a logical extension of our ongoing strategic partnership.”
Our mission is to protect the most critical networks on the planet and our comprehensive platform provides our customers with the capabilities they need to accomplish this vitally important task
– Amir Zilberstein, CEO and Co-founder, Claroty
The company, which already has large-scale customers across six continents and in nine market segments, says that it will use investment proceeds to grow its brand globally, extend its sales and support operations, and increase R&D efforts with investment in product development, threat research and the company’s labs.
“We invest in category-leading companies that, like Claroty, solve the most important challenges in heavy industry using pioneering technology,” said Kris Kemeny, Managing Director at Tekfen Ventures. “As an industrial leader in Turkey, Tekfen holds itself to the highest standards on its global projects. With Claroty, we saw that same commitment to excellence in both the team’s vision and architecture of the solution, that will help ensure the integrity of networks that power global industries.”
“We are humbled by the pedigree of the syndicate who chose to invest in our company,” said Claroty co-founders Amir Zilberstein, Galina Antova, and Benny Porat in a statement. “This includes three of the most prominent industrial control system vendors, which is unprecedented in our market.”
They added, “We are thankful today for every one of our employees, customers, partners, investors, and advocates who have helped us on our path. We are on a mission to protect the most important networks in the world and we will continue to work hard every day to make it happen.”
