Cloud Security Startup Lacework Gets a Boost With New $1.3B Funding

Lacework, which provides cloud security tools for the cloud, containers, and DevOps teams, has raised $1.3 billion in new funding. The company closed a $525 million funding round back in January, less than a year ago.

The rapid expansion of cloud applications and workloads means cloud security is fundamentally a data problem, Lacework says. Security needs to consider the enormous scale of data of exposed in the cloud, rapidly evolving technologies, and flexible infrastructure. Lacework automates the process of collecting and analyzing vast amounts of data flowing through the cloud platform.

The Lacework Cloud Security Platform collects, analyzes, and compiles security and threat data for anomaly detection, event and alert visualization, and compliance. The platform’s machine learning engine analyzes the data to identify the most critical events that need attention.

Lacework’s ecosystem includes infrastructure-as-code, continuous integration/continuous delivery, and workflow integrations such as Kubernetes, Terraform, and Jira, as well as partnerships with leading providers including Snowflake, New Relic, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Microsoft Azure.

Lacework has been on a funding streak – with five separate funding rounds since 2015 – and the Series D funding puts Lacework at a $8.3 billion valuation. Lacework co-CEO David Hatfield told Reuters the company is exploring different routes to go public, including a traditional initial public offering or a direct listing.

The latest funding will be used to expand go-to-market strategies and further product development, Lacework says. There are also plans to “pursue additional strategic acquisitions.” Earlier this week, Lacework acquired cloud infrastructure management company Soluble for an undisclosed amount. The Soluble acquisition will expand Lacework’s automation capabilities and add more security tools earlier in the software delivery process.