UK-based Darktrace, a cyber security startup that leverages machine learning and mathematics to detect threats, announced this week that it has raised $18 million in funding.
Founded in 2013 by senior members of the UK’ GCHQ and other intelligence agencies, DarkTrace is headquartered in Cambridge, UK with offices in London, Milan, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Singapore and Washington D.C.
The funding came from investors including Invoke Capital, Talis Capital, Hoxton Ventures and private individuals, with the latest funding round valuing the company at $80 million.
The company said that its “Enterprise Immune System” technology detects previously unknown threats using machine learning and mathematics developed at the University of Cambridge.
In more detail, the company explains on its website that the Darktrace platform “models patterns of life for each user and machine” to detect normal and abnormal behaviors as they emerge, without already knowing what it is looking for, and calculate the probability of threat based on the detection of behavioral anomalies.
In addition to the funding, the company announced that it has opened an Asia Pacific office in Singapore. Sanjay Aurora, who has more than 25 years’ experience leading enterprise software firms, will oversee the expansion process in the Asia Pacific region, Darktrace said.
Aurora is joined by John Muser, formerly of IBM Security, heading up Australia and New Zealand, and Stanley Hsu, formerly of McAfee.
“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 theMiddle East,” said Darktrace CEO Nicole Eagan. “Our headcount has tripled over the past year and expansion into Asia is a natural next step.”
British telecommunications services giant BT announced this month that it was integrating Darktrace’s platform, which will be added to BT’s security portfolio and be available as both part of an integrated cyber security offering or as a point solution within BT’s Assure portfolio of managed security services.
BT also said that it would integrate Darktrace into its own enterprise security defenses to protect internal assets.
