Darktrace Raises $18m to Fund Global Expansion

LONDON and CAMBRIDGE, England, March 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Darktrace, the leader in Enterprise Immune System technology, has raised $18 million from investors including Invoke Capital, Talis Capital, Hoxton Ventures and private individuals, valuing the company at $80 million. The company will continue its fast global growth and today announces its expansion into Asia Pacific.

Vasile Foca, co-founder of Talis Capital, commented: "Darktrace is an extremely dynamic company and an excellent addition to our digital portfolio. They have created a truly unique Cyber Security product and have already shown impressive sales traction. Indeed there are exciting times ahead and we very much look forward to working with the team." 

Darktrace, whose Enterprise Immune System technology protects companies from advanced cyber threats within their networks, has opened up operations in Asia Pacific. Sanjay Aurora, who has over 25 years' experience leading enterprise software firms, will oversee the expansion process in the Asia Pacific region. Mr. Aurora is joined by John Muser, formerly of IBM Security, heading up Australia and New Zealand, and Stanley Hsu, formerly of McAfee Intel, leading emerging markets in South East Asia.

"Darktrace is growing at a phenomenal rate. It has been barely a year since we deployed to our first customer and now we have deployments at 75 companies and relationships with 50 partners across America, UK, continental Europe and the Middle East," said Darktrace CEO Nicole Eagan. "Our headcount has tripled over the past year and expansion into Asia is a natural next step." 

Based on advanced machine learning and mathematics developed at the University of Cambridge, and with customers including BT, Virgin Trains and Drax, Darktrace is rapidly shifting the way cyber security is approached as the market transitions to a new model based on early-stage detection of cyber threats that bypass traditional controls.

Darktrace's Asia Pacific Managing Director Sanjay Aurora commented: "Cyber security is a global challenge for organizations worldwide and is top-of-mind for Boards of Directors and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) in Asia Pacific. Singapore is leading the way within the region and has recently announced the creation of a new ministerial position and central agency dedicated to cyber security so the timing for Darktrace in Asia Pacific is just right."

About Darktrace 

Darktrace is one of the world's fastest-growing cyber threat defense companies and the leader in Enterprise Immune System technology. Darktrace detects previously unknown threats in real time using advanced machine learning and mathematics developed at the University of Cambridge to analyze the behavior of every device, user and network within an organization. Some of the world's largest corporations rely on Darktrace's self-learning appliance in sectors including energy and utilities, financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, manufacturing, retail and transportation. The company was founded in 2013 by leading machine learning specialists and government intelligence experts, and is headquartered in Cambridge, UK with offices in London, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore and Washington D.C.

About Talis Capital 

Talis Capital is a multi-family office based in London, specializing exclusively in direct Private Equity and Venture Capital deals and have completed over $300m of transactions since 2009. http://www.taliscapital.com

About Hoxton Ventures 

Hoxton is a London-based early stage venture capital firm that invests in European startups able to scale into global winners. It focuses on companies that either disrupt existing industries or invent entirely new ones. http://www.hoxton.vc

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SOURCE Darktrace