Cybersecurity Boom: Abnormal Security Closes Funding At 25x Revenue Valuation
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is sponsored content for Plurilock.
Abnormal Security has closed a $250 million Series D funding round, propelling its valuation to an impressive $5.1 billion. This latest round, led by Wellington Management, with participation from existing investors Greylock Partners, Menlo Ventures, Insight Partners, and the Falcon Fund, marks a substantial 28% increase from its previous valuation of $4 billion during the Series C round in May 2022.
Co-founder and CEO Evan Reiser commented on the recent funding, stating, “This funding allows us to further invest in our human behavior AI platform to protect more people across their everyday applications, while enabling customers to accelerate their AI initiatives with autonomous AI solutions.”
The startup’s strategic focus on AI-driven cybersecurity has paid off, as evidenced by its achievement of surpassing $200 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR). This puts the company’s valuation following the funding round at 25x its annual revenue.
The robust funding environment for cybersecurity startups is reflective of a broader industry trend. According to Crunchbase, the second quarter of 2024 witnessed a remarkable $4.4 billion investment into cyber startups, a 63% increase from the first quarter’s $2.7 billion, and a 144% increase from Q2 2023. This resurgence marks the best quarter for funding in the sector since the first quarter of 2022.
Cybersecurity value
The cybersecurity industry has seen a surge in investments and acquisitions, driven by the increasing frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks. Abnormal Security’s recently concluded funding round is part of a broader trend of rising value in leading cybersecurity names.
Plurilock Security Inc. (TSXV: PLUR), another notable player in the cybersecurity domain, is also at the forefront of providing cutting-edge cybersecurity services, ensuring organizations can operate securely and efficiently. In 2023, the company reported $70.4 million in revenue, a 9% jump from last year’s.
| Abnormal | Plurilock | |
| Annual revenue | $200 million | $70.4 million |
| Current valuation | $5.1 billion | $47.5 million |
| Current valuation multiple based on revenue | 25.5x | 0.67x |
Founded in 2016, the company has revolutionized cybersecurity through groundbreaking academic research that introduced a novel technique for authenticating a person’s identity using behavioral biometrics. This technology continuously confirms identity by observing the motion involved in mouse and keyboard activity, offering significant advantages over traditional biometric technologies.
Today, Plurilock serves as a major North American IT Value-Added Reseller, critical services provider, and cybersecurity solutions vendor. The company supports federal, state, and local governments, as well as top global companies, with its unique expertise and solutions.
Plurilock provides a range of advanced cybersecurity solutions. The Plurilock AI Cloud platform secures users and cloud software without the need for new software deployment, offering flexible single sign-on, granular access controls, and native multi-factor authentication. Plurilock AI DLP ensures comprehensive data loss prevention and cloud security posture management, maintaining control over data access, sharing, and protection against unauthorized activities. Plurilock AI PromptGuard enables safer AI use by acting as a firewall between users and AI platforms, protecting sensitive data during interactions with AI tools. Plurilock AI Complete combines single sign-on, cloud access security broker, and data loss prevention capabilities with real-time identity verification using patented DEFEND™ technology.
The company has announced earlier this year the expansion of its professional services engagement with a leading publicly traded semiconductor company listed on both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indexes.
Most recently, Plurilock has secured a gold medal in Info-Tech’s 2024 Data Quadrant for Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) solutions for its Plurilock AI, marking the fifth consecutive year that the product has been recognized as a top performer in the highly competitive cybersecurity market.
FULL DISCLOSURE: Plurilock Security is a client of Canacom Group, the parent company of The Deep Dive. Canacom Group is currently long the equity of Plurilock Security. The author has been compensated to cover Plurilock Security on The Deep Dive, with The Deep Dive having full editorial control. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. We may buy or sell securities in the company at any time. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security.
