Cybersecurity firms CrowdStrike, Cylance complete funding rounds

California-based cybersecurity technology firm CrowdStrike and US security software company Cylance have both completed funding rounds this week, each raising significant financing to accelerate their respective expansion initiatives.

CrowdStrike raised a total $200mn during its Series E round, led by the likes of Accel, General Atlantic, Capital G, and IVP, valuing the firm at over $3bn.

CrowdStrike uses industry-leading AI to process more than 100bn security events on a daily basis in the aim of preventing both known and unknown cyberattacks. The AI engine is able to process more than 2.3mn decisions per second, allowing for enhanced real time threat detection and protection.

See also:

• Capgemini: 46% of firms are refraining from innovating due to cybersecurity fears

• 75% of cybersecurity professionals see the benefits of AI

• Data science – is it really the answer to cybersecurity?

“It is clear from CrowdStrike’s explosive growth that they have separated from the pack of next-gen vendors and continue to take market share from the legacy antivirus vendors,” said Sameer Gandhi, Partner at Accel.

“They are the only true SasS platform company in the endpoint security market and we are happy to continue backing the industry leader in this high-growth market.”

Meanwhile, rival company Cylance also held a Series E funding round, raising $120mn, failing to disclose the firm’s valuation in the wake its completion.

Led by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities, the financing acquired from the funding round will allow Cylance to bolster its machine learning-powered predictive endpoint security solution, similarly protecting users from unknown cyberattacks.

“With the most advanced application of AI in endpoint security, Cylance products continuously learn and improve over time, enabling customers to achieve a state of ‘Perpetual Prevention’ and creating a simple silence on the endpoint,” said Cylance CEO, Stuart McClure.

The strong investments secured by both Cylance and CrowdStrike highlight the growing strength of the cybersecurity market - a market that is expected to reach $96bn this year, up 8% from 2017, according to Gartner.