Illumio, a self-styled zero-faith Unicorn, has cut off $225 million in Series F funding at a valuation of $2.75 billion. The goal was led by Thomas Bravo, who recently bought a cybersecurity vendor Proofpoint for $12.3 billion and supported Franklin Templeton, Hamilton Lane and Blue Owl Capital.
The round landed more than two years after Illumio’s Series E fundraising round where it raised $ 65 million and sparked speculation about an upcoming IPO. Andrew Rubin, the company’s founder, is not yet ready to stress whether the company plans to go public, although he told TechCrunch.” Illumio’s latest financing round is well timed. It’s not just the huge rise of successful cybernetics that shows that some more traditional cybersecurity systems are no longer working, there have been recent attacks on the Colon colonial pipeline since the SolarWinds hack in early 2020, but President Joe Biden has issued an executive order pressuring federal agencies to implement significant cybersecurity initiatives, including zero-trust architecture.
“And just two weeks ago, Ann Neuberger [deputy national security adviser on cybersecurity] left a memo to all corporate America in the White House saying we’re going through a ransom epidemic, and here are six things we’re asking you to do,” says Rubin. “One of these is sharing your network.” Illumio focuses on securing data centers and cloud networks through what is called micro segmentation, which it claims makes it easier to manage and protect against potential breaches, and then easier to prevent if a breach occurs.
This zero-confidence approach to security – an idea centered on the idea that businesses should not automatically believe in anything outside of their perimeter – has never been more important to the organization, according to the Illumio. “Cyber events are no longer confined to cyberspace,” Rubin says. “That’s why people are finally saying that we can’t rely on 100% of the time, even if we rely solely on identification to keep us safe for 30 years. Zero confidence is now becoming a mantra.” Illumio told TechCrunch that it would use the newly raised funds to make “huge” investments in its field activities and channel partner networks and to invest in innovation, engineering and its products.
