Black Kite Raises $22M to Meet Aggressive Demand for Vendor Risk Management

BOSTON, Oct. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Black Kite, the standard in third-party cyber risk ratings, announced today a $22 million Series B investment led by Volition Capital, with participation from existing investors Moore Strategic Ventures, LLC (MSV), Glasswing Ventures, and Data Point Capital. Since 2019, Black Kite has secured more than $33.1 million in venture capital investments, fueling momentum and increasing market penetration.

Digital supply chains are growing at an annual rate of 11.2% and are forecasted to double in size by 2026. Black Kite's intelligence platform quickly and cost-effectively provides intelligence into third parties and supply chains, prioritizing findings into a simplified dashboard that risk management teams can easily consume and close critical security gaps.

Black Kite's patented platform and global data lake offers cyber risk assessments and quantification for more than 34 million entities in minutes. The technology's standards-based methodology calculates and quantifies findings, illuminating high priority third-parties, reducing the uncertainty around cyber risk as a whole.

The $22 million investment will allow Black Kite to expand investment in marketing, customer success, channels, and strategic partnerships. Over the last year, Black Kite has more than doubled its customer base and employee headcount. Additional cyber risk management innovations, such as third-party risk quantification using OpenFAIR™ and the first-ever ransomware predictability tool (Ransomware Susceptibility Index^™), have fueled the company's explosive growth.

"The Volition team is a roll-up-the-sleeves group that has a great reputation for partnering with founding management teams and playing to win," said Paul Paget, CEO of Black Kite. "Ransomware risk to supply chains and critical infrastructure providers can only be mitigated through a clear and real-time view of threats and vulnerabilities across organizations and their trading partners."

The greater Boston area, a global hub for cybersecurity talent and technology, houses Black Kite and Volition headquarters. Due to rapid employee growth, Black Kite recently expanded their headquarter office into the Prudential Center, with continued plans for rapid Boston-based employee growth.

"Third-party cyber risk management is a persistent and growing concern for organizations across all industries, and solutions that most effectively mitigate these risks have significant growth potential," said Sean Cantwell, Managing Partner at Volition Capital. "Black Kite's unique standards-based approach to supply chain risk assessment coupled with a strong management team has enabled significant market growth and traction. As long-time investors in supply chain compliance and security software businesses, we believe that Black Kite is well-positioned to emerge as the category-leading third-party cyber risk platform."

About Black Kite
One in four organizations suffered from a cyber attack in the last year, resulting in production, reputation and financial losses. The real problem is adversaries attack companies via third parties, island-hopping their way into target organizations. Black Kite redefines vendor-risk management with the world's first global third-party cyber risk monitoring platform, built from a hacker's perspective. With 300+ customers across the globe and counting, we're committed to improving the health and safety of the entire planet's cyber ecosystem with the industry's most accurate and comprehensive cyber intelligence.

While other security ratings service (SRS) providers try to narrow the scope, Black Kite provides the only standards-based cyber risk assessments that analyze your supply chain's cybersecurity posture from three critical dimensions: technical, financial, and compliance.

About Volition Capital
Volition Capital is a Boston-based growth equity firm that principally invests in high-growth, founder-owned companies across the software, Internet, and consumer sectors. Founded in 2010, Volition has over $1.1 billion in assets under management and has invested in over 30 companies in the United States and Canada. The firm selectively partners with founders to help them achieve their fullest aspirations for their businesses. For more information, visit http://www.volitioncapital.com or follow us on Twitter @volitioncapital.

About Moore Strategic Ventures
Moore Strategic Ventures, LLC is the privately held investment company for Louis M. Bacon, Founder and CEO of Moore Capital Management, LP.

About Glasswing Ventures
Glasswing Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm dedicated to investing in the next generation of AI and frontier technology startups that enable the rise of the intelligent enterprise. For more information about the firm please visit www.glasswing.vc.

About Data Point Capital
Data Point Capital is a venture capital firm with headquarters in Boston.  Founded by experienced operators, the firm takes a fundamentals-based approach to investing in companies with great teams, innovative technologies, and business models that can be leveraged on the Internet. Areas of interest include ecommerce, marketplaces, AI/machine learning, and cyber security.  Investments include DraftKings, Rent The Runway, Resident, Clypd, Reblaze, Black Kite, Trifecta, Paintzen, and numerous other category leaders. For more information, visit https://www.datapointcapital.com.

For more information, contact Adam Benson at [email protected] or 202.999.9104.

SOURCE Black Kite