Area 1 Security, a stealth cybersecurity startup on a mission to “eliminate targeted and advanced social engineering attacks,” today announced it has raised $8 million in a Series A funding round led by Ted Schlein at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB).
The latest round brings Menlo Park, Calif.-based Area 1 Security’s total funding amount to $10.5 million.
According to the company, the new capital will be put to use to advance product development and expand the company’s technology to protect against phishing and other targeted social engineering attacks.
Founded in 2013 by former NSA leaders including CEO Oren Falkowitz, Blake Darche and Phil Syme, Area 1 Security has more than doubled in size this year, recently adding people from Cisco, FireEye, MIT and Solera Networks.
“Targeted social engineering attacks against enterprise networks via phishing, watering holes and malvertising cause the greatest amount of damage to business operations and have gone unchecked for too long,” said, Ted Schlein KPCB general partner.
Schlein will join the Board of Directos at Area 1 Security, the company said.
In addition to KPCB, previous investors in Area 1 Security’s seed round have again invested in the company’s Series A round, including Allegis Capital, Cowboy Ventures; Data Collective (DCVC); First Round Capital; RedSeal Networks CEO and former Venrock partner Ray Rothrock; and Shape Security CEO Derek Smith.
“Area 1’s growth over the past year is a testament to the massive problem space we are targeting,” says Oren Fakowitz, CEO, Area 1 Security. “With this latest round of funding and recent executive hires from the top companies and research institutions across the industry, we have what it takes to perfect our next-generation product and deliver a truly new and dynamic solution to the enterprise.”
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