The cybersecurity company Silverfort, which provides a solution for user identity protection in organizations, raised $116 million in Series D funding, bringing the company's total funding to over $222 million. The round was led by the American investment firm Brighton Park Capital, along with existing investors including Acrew Capital, Greenfield Partners, Citi Ventures, General Motors Ventures, Maor Investments, Vintage Investment Partners, and Singtel Innov8.
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Established in 2016, Silverfort was co-founded by Hed Kovetz, Yaron Kessner, and Matan Fattal, all of whom are veterans of elite Unit 8200, in the IDF Intelligence Corps. The company currently boasts a workforce of 280 employees, with 150 based at its headquarters in Tel Aviv. Silverfort has expanded its presence with branch offices in 15 different countries across the globe.
Silverfort's developed platform allows customers to seamlessly implement secure verification and access protocols across their entire organizational network, including previously unprotected systems in both the local network and cloud infrastructure. The prevalent nature of cyber attacks, often utilizing compromised user identities, poses a significant threat by exploiting vulnerabilities and rapidly proliferating within organizational networks. However, Silverfort's platform leverages advanced AI-driven technologies to detect such attacks in real-time, enabling timely responses through multi-factor authentication or the prevention of unauthorized access.
Hed Kovetz, the CEO and co-founder of Silverfort, "The growing problem of stolen identities has reached an alarming level. We have successfully raised tens of millions of dollars compared to last year, enabling us to establish a highly significant business. Our capabilities have been acknowledged, allowing us to expand and transition from a product-focused startup to a market-leading company. With numerous competitors in the field, our funding provides us with the opportunity to forge ahead and stay ahead. We entered the identity protection industry early on, before it gained widespread attention. Over the past two years, we have made substantial progress in our positioning and are now developing the most comprehensive identity protection platform. While there are existing point solutions, our aim is to deliver a complete and holistic platform. The economic crisis has led to a surge in cyber attacks globally, including in Israel. We have effectively thwarted major attacks launched by hackers and even nations. The prevalent use of stolen identities, coupled with advancements in AI capabilities, has facilitated more sophisticated attacks, thus driving an increased demand for robust security measures.
"We experienced a 60% growth in our team last year, and we have plans to significantly expand our workforce this year. The funding round recently concluded, but we faced two challenging factors: the economic situation in the country and the ongoing war. During the initial weeks, we observed investors taking a cautious approach, waiting to assess the situation's development. While expressing concern, they hesitated to make investments. However, over the past two months, there has been a realization that our industry is robust, leading to a resurgence of investors with more stringent criteria across all aspects. Additionally, I have been hearing from other companies that they are encountering significant difficulties," explains Kovetz.
The recent funding round takes place amidst impressive revenue growth of over 100% in the previous year. During this period, the company achieved significant increases in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), adding tens of millions of dollars, and secured more than 100 new customers per quarter. Among these customers are major players in the global financial, manufacturing, and retail sectors. With the newly acquired funds, the company intends to expand its distinctive platform, hire more staff in Israel and other countries, and drive further sales growth on a global scale.
The company's technology effectively safeguards sensitive organizational systems by thwarting potential attacks that exploit vulnerabilities. It acts as an additional layer on top of existing access management products, filling the current gaps in protection. With this technology, secure identification can be seamlessly added to all systems within the organizational network and the cloud, eliminating the need for software installations. It effectively blocks unauthorized access using stolen identities, even in outdated and insecure systems, as well as between disparate systems of competing providers that currently lack communication protocols.
Hed Kovetz, CEO and Co-founder of Silverport, states: "Personally, as someone born in the Gaza border region, these are challenging times for me. I believe it is of utmost importance to preserve and strengthen entrepreneurs, companies, and economic resilience in order to ensure a prosperous future in Israel, even after the war. We are a proud Israeli company and will continue to establish and further strengthen our operations in Israel."