Boston-based Rapid7, a provider of vulnerability management and penetration testing solutions, today announced that it has secured $50 million in a series C round of funding.
The large cash injection will come from Palo Alto, California based VC firm, Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), and will be used to support company growth and fuel product innovation. The company said it is expanding its engineering teams in Los Angeles, and Austin, as well as building out a brand new innovation center at the Company’s Boston headquarters.
The company has been experiencing Rapid growth (pun intended), and has already increased its company head count by 43% this year.
“In the security battle, attackers currently have the edge and Rapid7 intends to change this by recruiting the most talented people and organizations to drive innovation. We are looking for great people that are passionate about helping customers solve the hard problems they face in security,” said Mike Tuchen, CEO of Rapid7.
The company also hinted that it may put some of the new cash toward acquisitions and investments. In 2009, it acquired the open source Metasploit Framework, now a critical component of the company’s business. Since then, Rapid7 has delivered a family of Metasploit commercial products, while also growing the open source Metasploit Framework by a factor of four, with more than 1 million downloads per year. Just last month, the company launched a free “Community Edition” of its commercial offering to the Metasploit Framework.
According to IDC, the security and vulnerability management market is predicted to exceed revenue of $5.2 billion by the end of 2014. Claiming more than 1,700 customers, Rapid7 recently reported its tenth quarter of record revenue in Q3 2011.
In addition to expanding in the U.S., Rapid7 said it would also use the funding to expand its presence in the EMEA and Asia-Pacific markets. In Q3 2011, the Company opened its first international offices in London and Hong Kong.