ThreatLocker Gets $115M to Fuel Zero Trust Defense, Eyes IPO

An SMB cybersecurity stalwart has completed its Series D funding round to make zero trust security more accessible and prepare for a potential initial public offering.

See Also: The 2021 Cybersecurity Executive Order

Orlando-based ThreatLocker intends to use the $115 million from General Atlantic and others to boost its market presence in places such as Australia and Europe and expand its product offerings to provide more holistic endpoint protection, according to CEO Danny Jenkins. ThreatLocker has quintupled its sales since completing its last cash infusion – a $100 million Series C funding round in April 2022, Jenkins said.

“It’s important for us to educate the community on what we do and why zero trust is important,” Jenkins told Information Security Media Group. “And that means getting out in front of a lot of companies and organizations and explaining the benefits of zero trust. And all that costs a lot of money.”

The company needs considerable funding to reach a broad audience and explain the concept effectively, according to Jenkins. ThreatLocker attended 420 trade shows in 2023 and expects to increase that figure to more than 800 this year. Jenkins said he has personally taken more than 120 business flights over the past 12 months (see: ThreatLocker CEO on Making Security Reports Relevant to SMBs).

“Our mission is to change the paradigm of allowing security people to deny, often referred to as zero trust,” Jenkins said. “What that means is: We only want to allow things that are needed, and then we’re not guessing if something’s ransomware.”

Ambitious Application Coverage Plans

ThreatLocker, founded in 2017, employs nearly 350 people and has raised nearly $240 million in four rounds of outside funding, according to IT-Harvest. The company has been led since establishment by Jenkins, who had been CEO of white-labeled email security provider Sirrustec and co-founder of email and internet security SaaS application provider MXSweep.

ThreatLocker did not disclose a valuation associated with its Series D funding, but Jenkins said the firm’s valuation has doubled over the past two years despite the economic downturn. Keeping General Atlantic as ThreatLocker’s lead investor will help maintain stability in governance and operations, which Jenkins said is crucial for the company’s growth and independence.

“GA has been a good partner,” Jenkins said. “They’ve been very strong, and it was really a vote of confidence in them stepping up and actually offering the valuations that they did.”

ThreatLocker has been readying itself for an initial public offering by strengthening its internal processes and completing necessary audits, according to Jenkins. He wants to see the company double its topline sales before actually going public, and he doesn’t anticipate ThreatLocker will need more funds before filing for an IPO.

The $115 million will help ThreatLocker simplify and enhance its zero trust security protection by cutting deployment times and broadening its software coverage, according to Jenkins. Specifically, Jenkins said, ThreatLocker plans to boost the number of applications in the company’s database from 3,000 today to 6,000 in late 2024 – to cut the time and effort required for new clients to onboard its platform.

Establishing a Global Footprint

In addition to simplifying zero trust deployment and management for customers, Jenkins said, ThreatLocker wants to integrate more comprehensive cybersecurity features such as managed detection and response and to educate prospects on the value of zero trust by demonstrating vulnerabilities in customer’s existing systems. ThreatLocker wants to enhance its product and scale operations without giving up autonomy.

“We did a report for an agency recently, a government agency, and we were able to identify not only were there unknown apps running, but many of those apps were software developed in adversarial countries,” Jenkins said.

ThreatLocker recently established offices in Australia and Europe, and Jenkins said the company plans to add regional development and support infrastructure to grow further outside North America. Jenkins will monitor ThreatLocker’s execution against its product road map, expansion in application coverage, and customer support response times to ensure the company fulfills the goals of its Series D financing.

“We’re the fastest-responding cybersecurity company, and all of our support is in-house,” Jenkins said. “And we have an average response time of 23 seconds. So we’re monitoring that very closely to make sure, as we grow, our support hasn’t gone down.”

The company will also track development progress and sales metrics to gauge the impact of its investments and ensure it meets ThreatLocker’s strategic goals, according to Jenkins. Going forward, Jenkins wants ThreatLocker to expand customer zero trust adoption across industries and maintain a leadership position in cybersecurity innovation.

“The Series D round allows us to improve technology, improve the quality of the onboarding and give the customer a better experience,” Jenkins said. “Essentially, funding is a tool to accomplish what we’re trying to achieve.”