Darktrace Raises Growth Equity From Summit Partners

CAMBRIDGE, England, July 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Series B Funding Follows Exceptional Growth Year

Darktrace, the leader in Enterprise Immune System technology, announced today that it has raised $22.5 million in Series B funding from Summit Partners, a global growth equity investor that has raised more than $16 billion in capital since inception.

Darktrace's Enterprise Immune System represents a new class of cyber defense software that helps enterprises and government bodies protect themselves against advanced attacks and data compromises from within the network. Powered by Bayesian mathematics and advanced machine learning developed at the University of Cambridge, Darktrace analyzes network activity and learns the behavior of every device, user and network within an organization in order to detect abnormal threat behaviors as they emerge. Darktrace is currently experiencing exceptional bookings and revenue growth driven by rapid geographical expansion and a significant increase in its customer base.

"Darktrace is reinventing the way organizations protect their data and assets, with a truly differentiated solution developed by some of the leading minds in machine learning and mathematics," said Antony Clavel, a Vice President with Summit Partners. "Darktrace's core Enterprise Immune System technology responds to an urgent need for more advanced cyber security, given the volume and complexity of today's cyber threats."

"Summit Partners has decades of experience in supporting exceptional new technologies and highly-skilled teams," added Han Sikkens, a Managing Director with Summit Partners. "We have been impressed by Darktrace's outstanding leadership team and unique combination of security intelligence, technical and commercial skills. We welcome the opportunity to help accelerate the company's growth across the world."

"We are delighted to be working with Summit Partners, an investor with deep experience in the security sector, as we continue to rapidly grow our business," said Nicole Eagan, CEO of Darktrace. "This is yet another validation of our machine-learning and mathematics approach, and will enable us to maintain a fast pace of innovation, and pursue our vision of bringing the Enterprise Immune System to the heart of cyber defense strategies today."

The funding will help Darktrace meet growing international demand, particularly in the United States and Asia Pacific. In addition, Darktrace will continue to scale the business and hire world-class talent for its technology, cyber analyst and commercial teams around the world.

Darktrace serves customers across a range of industry verticals, including leading organizations in the critical infrastructure and financial services sectors and several Fortune 100 corporations. The company was named "Best Security Company of the Year" at the InfoSecurity Global Excellence Awards 2015 and "Best Insider Threat Detection Solution" in the Network Products Guide IT World Awards 2015.

Summit Partners' previous investments in the cyber security technology sector include Avast, McAfee, NetWitness, Postini, RiskIQ and SafeBoot.

Han Sikkens, a Managing Director at Summit Partners and Vanessa Colomar, Partner at Invoke Capital, have joined the Darktrace Board of Directors.

About Darktrace 

Named 'Best Security Company of the Year' in the Info Security Products Guide 2015, Darktrace is one of the world's leading cyber threat defense companies. Its Enterprise Immune System technology detects previously unidentified threats in real time, powered by machine learning and mathematics developed at the University of Cambridge, which analyze the behavior of every device, user and network within an organization. Some of the world's largest corporations rely on Darktrace's self-learning appliance in sectors including energy and utilities, financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing, retail and transportation. The company was founded in 2013 by leading machine learning specialists and government intelligence experts, and is headquartered in Cambridge, UK and San Francisco, with offices in Dallas, London, Milan, Melbourne, New York, Paris, Singapore, Toronto and Washington D.C.

About Summit Partners 

Founded in 1984, Summit Partners is a growth equity firm that has raised more than $16 billion in capital. Summit has invested in more than 400 companies in technology, healthcare and other growth sectors. These companies have completed more than 135 public offerings, and more than 150 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Notable technology companies financed by Summit Partners include Avast, Arista Networks, Flow Traders, Hyperion Solutions, Infor, McAfee, NetWitness, Postini, RiskIQ, SafeBoot, Sybari Software and WebEx. Summit maintains offices in North America and Europe and invests in companies around the world. For more information, visit http://www.summitpartners.com or follow on Twitter at @SummitPartners.

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners LLP, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales with registered number OC388179 and its registered office is at 20-22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners' potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.