Just two years ago, VC funding for cybersecurity startups was on the rise. In fact, $23 billion has flowed into the sector, according to Crunchbase. However, as a result of 2021's unusually strong rally, high valuations, and investor caution over market volatility, cybersecurity startups' revenue was only a third of that in 2023.
But there's always Several Winners during downtime.
Yesterday, NinjaOne, an IT platform for endpoint management, security, and visibility, announced that it has raised $231.5 million in a Series C funding round led by Iconiq Growth.
The huge round, which included participation from Snowflake Chairman and CEO Frank Slootman and Datadog President Amit Agarwal, values NinjaOne at $1.9 billion, according to co-founder and CEO Sal Sferlazza. is.
Sferlazza said NinjaOne was not looking to raise money, but had received interest from “numerous” potential investors, including Iconiq.
“Iconiq has a strong history of helping top companies like Snowflake, Datadog, and CrowdStrike realize their potential,” Sferlazza told TechCrunch in an email interview. “We believed the investment from Iconiq would help ensure NinjaOne is well-positioned for long-term success. We continue to improve our product offering and grow our customer base and product offering. We are focused on growing our business and team to support our global growth as we mature.”
Image credits: ninja one
Sferlazza and NinjaOne President and CFO Chris Matarese launched Austin, Texas-based NinjaOne in 2014. Sferlazza said he was closely involved in early development efforts, including working with NinjaOne's founding team to build endpoint management, patching, and support tools.
“We recognized there was a huge need to help organizations manage their endpoints, a need that only grew with the pandemic wave of remote and hybrid work,” he said. Ta. “In the post-pandemic era, endpoints pose significant risks and opportunities. And amid the unprecedented rise of generative AI, NinjaOne is focused on automating and simplifying our customers' IT operations. I am.”
NinjaOne's tools are designed to integrate with existing IT and security platforms, performing everything from remote device monitoring and data backup to software deployment, alerting, scripting, and app automation. The company currently claims to manage more than 7 million endpoints for his more than 17,000 customers, including Hello Fresh, Nissan, Nvidia, Pabst Brewing Company, California, and the University of Oxford.
“When we founded NinjaOne, we set out to develop a wide range of products that prioritized customer success,” said Sferlazza. “That remains our top priority today, and this focus has allowed us to grow a strong business.”
NinjaOne's war chest now stands at $282.7 million, with revenue up 70% year-over-year.
Sferlazza said proceeds from the latest round of funding will be used to expand NinjaOne's team of about 1,000 people and invest in automating the “hardest parts” of IT. “S]Streamlined endpoint management, strengthened security, and accelerated adoption of new technology have enabled us to achieve unparalleled customer success,” he continued.
Roy Luo from Iconiq, who has joined NinjaOne's board of directors, added in a press release: We are excited to support their dynamic energy, relentless commitment to customer success, and continued growth trajectory through our global platform. ”