Synack, Inc. (“Synack”) today announced that it raised $52 million in Series D funding to transform security testing through its crowdsourced platform powered by the world’s most skilled ethical hackers who work with proprietary Synack technology to accelerate the hunt for critical software vulnerabilities.
New investors B Capital Group and C5 Capital co-led the round, bringing total funding to $112.1 million. Previous investors GGV Capital, GV (formerly Google Ventures), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (“HPE”), Icon Ventures, Intel Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Microsoft’s venture fund M12 and Singtel Innov8 (the corporate venture arm of the Singtel Group) also participated in the round.
In 2013, Synack set out to leverage the best cybersecurity talent so organizations could swiftly discover critical vulnerabilities that left them dangerously at risk. Today, more than 1,500 of the world’s most skilled ethical hackers from 82 countries are active members of the Synack Red Team (“SRT”). Synack augments their talents with continuous security monitoring technology that utilizes machine learning and AI to quickly and more efficiently root out vulnerabilities.
Global 2000 companies — the world’s leading banks, retailers and healthcare companies representing over $1 trillion in assets — as well as major federal government agencies such as the Department of Defense (and the “Hack the Pentagon” program) and cutting-edge defense and aerospace companies such as General Dynamics Information Technology (“GDIT”) already trust some of their most critical assets to Synack.
“GDIT upholds a continuous cyber commitment to our customers,” said GDIT Chief Information Security Officer Michael Baker. “It’s a core part of our mission to ensure the cyber protection for today while anticipating the threats of tomorrow. During today’s remote working environment, crowdsourced security has enabled us to continuously operate in a distributed model with confidence.”
This $52 million funding round will allow Synack to invest even more in the SRT community, further advance its SmartScan® technology that continuously monitors for vulnerabilities and enhance data analytics and research to demonstrate the value of Synack’s hacker-driven approach.
Additionally, Synack will use the money to:
- Expand internationally. Organizations throughout the U.S., Europe and in parts of the Middle East and Asia have already adopted Synack’s platform. Now, Synack will expand its international reach by forging new relationships with businesses and agencies in critical need of advanced, continuous vulnerability testing. Much of this will be done through Synack’s expanding global partner network. Synack will also extend its offering beyond the Global 2000 to accommodate medium sized and smaller enterprises.
- Continue innovating. Synack will invest in its core products that combine hacker talent with AI and machine learning to find and fix exploitable vulnerabilities at scale.
- Improve security for everyone. The investment will give Synack greater flexibility to invest in new products and offerings that can expand its crowdsourced cybersecurity model at a critical time when all organizations are relying on an increasingly remote workforce.
“For years, remote work has become more and more desirable. Now, it’s essential. Companies of all sizes are leaning on the platforms and services that enable a more nimble, dispersed workforce,” said Synack CEO Jay Kaplan.
“The only way to guarantee trust and control in cybersecurity used to be through on-site work. That’s simply no longer the case. Synack can maintain trust and visibility all while giving customers access to an army of the most talented ethical hackers to defend against today’s relentless cyberattacks. Over the past seven years, we’ve proven this model has kept critical organizations safe.”
Premier investors B Capital Group and C5 Capital will partner with Synack to add value through its next stages of growth. As a global investor specializing in growth-stage firms, B Capital Group provides hands-on support in areas such as business development, operations, talent management and capital formation through a dedicated in-house team and a strategic partnership with The Boston Consulting Group.
“Synack offers a market-leading and unique augmented intelligence cybersecurity platform to secure mission-critical applications for some of the world’s largest banks, retailers, technology vendors, and federal agencies,” said Rashmi Gopinath, General Partner at B Capital Group. “The remote, crowdsourced model is incredibly vital for organizations to fast track security testing especially in the current environment. Synack’s approach will become the default way for all organizations — regardless of their size — to test vulnerable digital assets. I am really excited to back the Synack team for a second time through B Capital.”
C5 Capital is a leading investor specializing in technologies that can establish a more secure digital future. They recognized the critical role Synack plays in solving the cybersecurity talent gap, which has become glaringly apparent during the current health crisis. Throughout this period, the SRT was a collective force for good, working to secure Covid-19 related apps from key government agencies. In March, when the initial stay-at-home orders took effect in the U.S., the SRT spent 70 percent more time hunting for vulnerabilities and found 250 percent more flaws than the same period last year.
“This is a model that can resolve the widening cybersecurity skills gap,” said William Kilmer, managing partner of C5 Capital, “The combination of crowdsourced penetration testing with hackers from more than 80 different countries and insights from artificial intelligence enables sustainable security at scale, giving organizations the ability to take advantage of the world’s best ethical hackers to protect critical information and customer data. We believe this powerful combination has the potential to solve many current and future cybersecurity issues.”
