U.K.-based cyber defense firm Darktrace has raised $50 million in its recent Series E round of funding, putting the company’s valuation at $1.65 billion. The company said Wednesday that the funding — led by Vitruvian Partners, with help from KKR and 1011 Ventures — will drive further international expansion. Darktrace is one of the largest enterprise security startups on the market. Its proprietary technology sits on a company’s network and uses machine learning to identify and stop malicious behavior, which helps administrators tackle threats as they arise. Since a $75 million injection at its Series D funding a year ago, Darktrace said it has more than doubled its deployments to more than 7,000 networks, and counts London Gatwick Airport, AIG and the Science Museum Group as customers. Darktrace chief executive Nicole Eagan said the company is enjoying “strong growth in new and existing geographies.” “Our biggest priority in the immediate future is meeting the demand for our technology to continue to combat AI-based attacks,” Eagan told TechCrunch. “We’re currently heads down focused on growth.” “We’re also continuing to open offices in regions where demand is highest, hiring more employees to meet our rapidly growing demand, and gathering feedback from customers to better serve our customer base,” she said. The company has also increased its headcount by more than half and has eight new offices, including Los Angeles and the tripling of its Singapore office.
UK cybersecurity firm KKR has raised $50m in series E funding led by Vitruvian Partners with participation from Darktrace and 1011 Ventures. KKR technology uses machine learning to seek out and stop malicious behaviour on company networks. Gatwick Airport, AIG and the Science Museum Group are among its clients. The company, valued at $1.65bn following the deal, said it will use the funds for international expansion.