Cyera Gets $300M at $1.4B Valuation to Fuel Safe AI Adoption

A startup founded by longtime Israeli Military Intelligence leaders landed Series C funding to extend from data security posture management into data detection and response.

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New York-based Cyera said the $300 million will help companies secure data amid the rise of generative AI technologies and rapid integration of artificial intelligence into business processes, said co-founder and CEO Yotam Segev. Cyera aims to simplify and enhance the effectiveness of existing corporate data protection strategies by establishing a more unified and less-fragmented approach to data security.

“For many, many years, we’ve managed to do security without focusing on the data,” Segev told Information Security Media Group. “And that’s just not going to fly anymore. The need to focus on data has been extremely, extremely aggravated by the adoption of these gen AI tools.”

Cybersecurity’s First Unicorn Since June 2022

The Series C funding was led by Coatue, which Segev said will help Cyera not only thrive as a venture-backed startup but also prepare for a future as a publicly traded entity. Cyera received a $1.4 billion valuation in conjunction with its latest funding round, making it the first newly minted cybersecurity unicorn since fellow data security startup Vanta received a $1.6 billion valuation in June 2022 (see: Will Cybersecurity Get Its 1st New Unicorn Since June 2022?).

“Achieving a unicorn valuation in this current market environment is signaling to the market and to our customers that we’re here for the long term,” Segev said.

The latest funding comes less than 10 months after Cyera closed a $100 million Series B round at a reported $500 million valuation. Both Segev and Cyera co-founder and CTO Tamar Bar-Ilan spent nearly a decade in the Israeli military, and Segev rose to become head of Unit 8200’s cyber department (see: Cyera Raises $100M to Bring Data Protection to Hybrid Cloud).

Cyera’s continuation as an independent company stands in marked contrast to four of its data security posture management competitors, all of which exited the market over the past year through acquisition. Remaining independent will allow Cyera to focus deeply on data security, and Segev said a company dedicated to nothing other than data security is most likely to become a major force in the industry.

“Whether or not it’s us, I believe there’s going to be a huge data security cybersecurity company over the next few years,” Segev said.

Now that Cyera has an additional $300 million in hand, Segev said, the company plans to expand from data security posture management to offer more proactive and preventative data protection measures. The company will leverage its foundational DSPM capabilities as it adds more proactive, preventative controls as well as next-generation data loss prevention and data detection and response capabilities.

From Understanding Data to Protecting It

By offering both DSPM and data detection and response under one roof, Segev said Cyera will make security management more efficient along with simplifying and boosting data security for its clients. Cyera’s push into DDR will get the company into more controls, detection mechanisms and operational mechanisms to ensure customers not only understand their data but also are actively protecting it.

“Customers have tens of use cases they need to deal with around data that aren’t getting addressed today,” Segev said. “If there are good opportunities to go inorganically in a way that would serve the best interests of our customers, we will do that.”

From a geographic standpoint, Segev expects Cyera’s business outside the United States to double from roughly 5% today to 10% a year from now as the company focuses on European markets with stringent data privacy and protection regulations, such as the United Kingdom. The company’s technology is relatively vertically agnostic given the universal challenge of managing sensitive data, according to Segev.

“Every business is collecting sensitive data, and every business has to care,” he said.

As far as metrics are concerned, Segev said, Cyera’s priority is maintaining its hyper-growth trajectory as measured by new customer acquisition, retention of existing customers and annual recurring revenue. The high-margin nature of enterprise software sales means Cyera can achieve profitability whenever it chooses, and Segev said the company aims to balance rapid topline growth with sustainable practices.

“I think that companies have a situation where they’re either going to thrive or be challenged to survive in the new economy,” Segev said. “Data security is a crucial, crucial capability in order to enable the enterprise to really adopt AI and data transformation for the entire business.”