eSecurity Planet: NetSPI Lands $410 Million in Funding – And Other Notable Cybersecurity Deals

On October 17, NetSPI CEO Aaron Shilts was featured in the eSecurity Planet article called NetSPI Lands $410 Million in Funding – And Other Notable Cybersecurity Deals. Read the preview below or view it online.

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NetSPI, a top penetration testing and vulnerability management company, recently announced a $410 million funding round, a huge amount in a year in which $100+ million rounds have become a rarity. The investor was KKR, one of the world’s largest alternative asset firms.

KKR previously invested $90 million in NetSPI in May 2021, so NetSPI has demonstrated considerable traction since then.

That the funding round occurred in a difficult environment makes it all the more impressive. According to data from Crunchbase, the total amount of investments in cybersecurity startups came to $2.6 billion in the third quarter. This was the lowest since the same period in 2020.

The number of deals for this year’s Q3 was only 124. This is a level not seen since 2014.

Filling the Cybersecurity Talent Gap

Of course, the drop-off has been widespread across the tech sector. With a bear market, high inflation, rising interest rates, and concerns of a recession, investors are certainly getting more conservative – and generally focusing on top-notch deals.

As for NetSPI, it fits into this sweet spot. Founded over 20 years ago, the company’s vision is “technology powered, human delivered.” This involves sophisticated penetration testing for some of the world’s largest financial institutions, cloud operators, and healthcare organizations.

For the past five years, revenues have spiked by 5X. Organic growth was 50% in 2021 and 61% thus far in 2022.

“We combine human ingenuity from our 400 global offensive security professionals with our innovative technology platforms – a unique combination that ensures quality, consistency, transparency, accountability, and efficiency across all NetSPI assessments,” said Aaron Shilts, CEO, NetSPI.

A key focus is on hiring top talent in ethical hacking and adversary simulation and leveraging NetSPI’s three technology platforms, which include Resolve, ASM, and AttackSim.

“Additionally, the scarcity of talent is still one of the biggest issues in the cybersecurity industry,” said Shilts. “Investors are aware of this and have become acutely focused on acquiring organizations with a concentration on hiring the best talent globally and who offer programs to fill the talent gap.”

NetSPI plans to use the capital for investing in R&D, hiring, and global expansion. Part of the money will also be to recapitalize the equity investment of an early investor, Sunstone Partners.

You can read the full article at eSecurity Planet!