Cylance, the first cyber security company to successfully apply artificial intelligence algorithms to predictively identify and stop malware and advanced threats, today announces that it has completed the initial closing of a $100 million Series D funding round led by funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Insight Venture Partners and included follow-on investments by the company’s existing investors including us.
The funding will be used to support the company’s rapid business growth by expanding sales, marketing and engineering programs for Cylance endpoint protection go-to-market strategies. Since its introduction, Cylance has experienced record growth with product billings and customer growth of 1089 percent and 785 percent respectively, propelling the company to achieve its mission many years earlier than anticipated. In its Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) earlier this year, Gartner called Cylance “the fastest growing EPP startup in the past ten years.”
Today CylancePROTECT® is protecting millions of endpoints and over 1,000 customers from never before seen attacks, i.e., zero-days, preventing these customers from downtime, distraction and brand tarnishing. The product is uniquely able to identify and prevent zero-days and other forms of advanced and targeted attacks currently impacting businesses and government agencies worldwide, thereby eliminating the need for individual security teams to analyze and develop expertise in defending against each new cyberattack. CylancePROTECT is actively protecting countless, once-previous victims of attacks, all without the need for cloud-supported conviction or regular updates.
“We’re enthusiastic about supporting the terrific management team at Cylance, a company well-positioned for growth with a strong foundation in the cyber-security space,” said Viral Patel, a Managing Director in Blackstone’s Tactical Opportunities. “Cylance’s strong track record, including at Blackstone portfolio companies, deepens our conviction in the value that this platform can offer across sectors.”
“We have been tracking Cylance since they came to market, and are thrilled to be partnering with them,” said Mike Triplett, Managing Director at Insight Venture Partners. “Cylance’s team and technology have delivered on exactly what they’ve promised: elegant and effective prevention at the endpoint, in addition to impressive customers and growth.”
“We founded Cylance almost four years ago with a singular mission: protect those who cannot protect themselves, and empower those who can,” said Cylance CEO Stuart McClure. “Our goal of reinventing endpoint security by using machine learning to think like a cyber hacker has been achieved and we now must ensure that it is put in the hands of security leaders inside enterprises, organizations, governments and small businesses as quickly as possible.”