Cybersecurity startup Huntress valued at over $1.5B after latest funding

(Reuters) — Huntress, the small business-focused cybersecurity startup founded by former hackers for the U.S. government, was valued at over $1.5 billion after raising $150 million in its latest funding round.

Venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, late-stage tech investor Meritech Capital and Huntress’ existing backer Sapphire Ventures led the round, the company said Tuesday.

Trends like remote working are prompting businesses to bolster their digitization efforts, especially in terms of protecting their computer networks from cyberattacks, driving demand for cybersecurity products.

Huntress caters to “underserved and under-protected” small and mid-market companies, since most companies tailor their products to suit bigger enterprises.

“Huntress is not cybersecurity for the Fortune 500, we’re cybersecurity for the Fortune 5,000,000,” said co-founder and CEO Kyle Hanslovan, a former cyber operator at the National Security Agency.

The company raised capital “to escalate the arms race against cybercriminals,” he said, adding that it would rapidly expand the number of products on its platform.

Huntress may go public in the future but is not focusing on it currently, Mr. Hanslovan said.

The company was founded in 2015 and has over 100,000 customers, according to its website. It has only “scratched the surface in terms of the opportunity,” said Kleiner Perkins partner Everett Randle.