The 10 Hottest Cybersecurity Startups Of 2022
Despite economic headwinds, cybersecurity startups still did well in terms of raising funds in 2022. CRN breaks down what you should know about some of the security standouts.
The past year started strong for security startups, as funding continued to pour into young firms at record levels. More than a few firms were suddenly and proudly calling themselves unicorns.
But the tech market started to tighten up this past spring, as stock prices tumbled, the IPO market dried up, and later-stage startups began laying off workers in order to preserve cash.
Though there was a small pullback by investors, the cybersecurity industry nevertheless showed remarkable resilience compared to other tech sectors. Big bucks continue to be invested in security companies, under the belief that companies can’t afford potentially devastating cyberattacks and needed cutting-edge security tools and services.
All in all, it was a financially good year for the cybersecurity sector – and for earlier-stage startups in general.
CRN takes a look at some of those startups making their mark on the tech sector, from one focusing on email security to another focusing on a new secure web browser for a hybrid workforce.
The following is CRN’s list of the hottest security startups of 2022.
* Abnormal Security
## * Axis Security
* Beyond Identity
* BlueVoyant
* Cymulate
* Fortanix
* Grip Security
* Perimeter 81
* Talon Cyber Security
* Vanta
Abnormal Security
CEO and co-founder: Evan Reiser
Headquarters: San Francisco
Website: http://abnormalsecurity.com/
Abnormal Security, an email security company, made its presence known within the industry in 2022, raising an eye-popping $210 million in a Series C funding round led by Insight Partners, with participation from Greylock Partners and Menlo Ventures. The latest infusion of funds raised the firm’s valuation to about $4 billon.
Abnormal Security, which was founded in 2018, provides a cloud-native email platform that used AI-based behavioral data science to stop socially-engineered attacks and other cyber assaults that avert secure email gateways.
Axis Security
Co-founder and CEO: Dor Knafo
Headquarters: San Mateo, Calif.
Website: https://www.axissecurity.com
Founded in 2019, Axis Security, with its Atmos Security Service Edge (SSE) platform, is a startup that’s already making waves in the industry. Earlier this year, CRN chose Axis’s Atmos platform as the 2022 Tech Innovator winner in the SSE category.
The award came eight months after the San Mateo, Calif.-based Axis raised $50 million in Series C funding, bringing the firm’s total raised to $100 million. The funding round was led by Spark Capital.
Beyond Identity
CEO and co-founder: Thomas Jermoluk
Headquarters: New York
Website: https://www.beyondidentity.com
In early 2022, Beyond Identity raised $100 million in a Series C funding round, as the multi-factor authentication startup eyed an expansion into Asia-Pacific and Latin America markets. The latest round propelled the two-year-old Beyond Identity into unicorn territory, making it a prime hot-startup candidate.
The fact that Jim Clark, who has helped found a number of tech firms over the years, and Thomas Jermoluk, a long-time collaborator with Clark, co-founded Beyond Identity make the promising firm even more intriguing to monitor in coming months and years.
BlueVoyant
CEO: Jim Rosenthal
Headquarters: New York
Website: https://www.bluevoyant.com
BlueVoyant was yet another cybersecurity firm to reach unicorn status in 2022, after raising $250 million in a Series D funding round led by Liberty Strategic Capital, a private equity firm founded by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.
Founded in 2017, the New York-based BlueVoyant provides a mix of security technologies to help manage both internal and external risks to an organization -- with the company showing increasing clout in the MDR field.
## Cymulate
CEO and co-founder: Eyal Wachsman
Headquarters: New York and Tel Aviv, Israel
Website: https://cymulate.com
A provider of automated continuous security testing, Cymulate raised another $70 million in funding in September, bringing its total raised to $141 million since its founding in 2016. The Series D funding round was led by repeat investor One Peak.
Cymulate has developed a platform that enables companies to simulate cyberattacks in order to test a security system‘s defenses against potential attackers.
Fortanix
CEO: Ambuj Kumar
Headquarters: Mountain View, Calif.
Website: https://www.fortanix.com
Besides its data security technology, Fortanix is considered a pioneer in so-called “confidential computing,” or protective encryption technology for data that’s being processed. Investors are obviously paying attention to Fortanix’s cutting-edge work.
The startup earlier this year raised an additional $90 million in a new Series C funding round that brings to $122 million the total amount the firm has raised since its founding in 2016. The round was led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management with participation from, among others, Intel Capital and In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture firm.
Grip Security
CEO and cofounder: Lior Yaari
Headquarters: Tel Aviv, Israel
Website: https://www.grip.security
Founded in 2021, Grip Security, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based SaaS security startup, entered 2022 in a nice spot, having raised $6 million in early 2021 and then another $19 million late last year, bringing its total raised to $25 million. Among its backers: Intel Capital.
The company’s offerings allow organizations to discover and secure all SaaS applications from any device and any location. Earlier this year, Grip Security, which provides organizations with full visibility into their entire SaaS portfolio, announced the launch of its new partner program.
Perimeter 81
CEO and co-founder: Amit Bareket
Headquarters: Tel Aviv, Israel
Website: https://www.perimeter81.com
Perimater 81, a Security Service Edge (SSE) and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) provider, reached unicorn status earlier this years as a result of a $100 million Series C funding round led by B Capital.
Perimeter 1’s stated goal: the “further disruption of the network security market.” The company has said its technology can replace legacy security solutions like VPNs and firewalls.
Talon Cyber Security
CEO and co-founder: Ofer Ben-Noon
Headquarters: Tel Aviv, Israel
Website: https://talon-sec.com/
A year ago, Talon Cyber Security was a little-known cybersecurity startup from Israel. But it instantly became a high-profile startup this spring after the firm won the coveted RSA award for most innovative security startup.
The firm’s TalonWork browser gives customers the “deep security visibility and control over SaaS applications needed to simplify security for the future of work,” according to Talon.
In August, Talon, founded in 2021, announced that it has raised a hefty $100 million in a Series A funding round led by Evolution Equity Partners, with participation from CrowdStrike’s Falcon Fund, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz and others.
Vanta
CEO and co-founder: Christina Cacioppo
Headquarters: San Francisco
Website: https://www.vanta.com
Vanta Inc., whose software allows companies to more easily make their systems compliant with data security standards, raised about $110 million late last spring – and four months later it was announcing its launch of a new partner program that’s taking particular aim at MSPs and other firms providing managed security services.
And did we mention that the latest round of funding for Vanta pushed it into unicorn status? The 350-employee Vanta was founded about five years ago.