It appears that investors are beginning to take an interest in cybersecurity again.
Per week after Abnormal security closed a $250 million Series D round that valued the startup at $5.1 billion, a secure content company Kite work raised $456 million in round Insight Partners (who also took part in the Abnormal round) and Sixth Street.
The San Mateo, California-based company described the latest round as “growth capital” but also said it was a “partial liquidity event,” meaning some investors were in a position to money out.
While the company didn’t provide a specific valuation, it said it is a minority investment, meaning it is valued at greater than $1 billion.
The Kiteworks platform allows customers to share sensitive data with other trusted parties via communication channels akin to email and file sharing.
In 2020, the company raised $120 million in a funding round led by Bregal SagemountFounded in 1999, Kiteworks has gathered $592 million.
The company formerly often known as Accellion has been hit by a major data breach. 2021.
Cyber financing
The funding rounds from Kiteworks and Abnormal seem to point a continued return of funding to cybersecurity.
Cyber startups saw a solid $4.4 billion in investment in Q2 2024, in line with Crunchbase dataThe dollar amount represents a 63% increase from the first quarter, when $2.7 billion went to startups across 173 deals.
It was the best quarter for funding in the sector since Q1 2022 and a 144% increase in comparison with Q2 2023.