Cloud-native cybersecurity startup Aqua Security raises $60M and remains a unicorn | TechCrunch

Aqua Security, an Israeli cybersecurity startup that helps companies protect their cloud services, has raised $60 million in funding, extending its previously announced $135 million Series E round of funding to $195 million.

Founded in 2015, Tel Aviv- and Boston-based Aqua Security claims customers such as PayPal, Netflix and Samsung, which use the Aqua platform for services spanning cloud workload protection (CWPP), cloud security posture management, Kubernetes security posture management, software supply chain security, risk and vulnerability scanning, malware protection and more.

The company has now raised around $325 million since its inception, and with its Series E extension round Aqua ushers in lead investor Evolution Equity Partners, a venture capital firm substantively focused on the cybersecurity industry and which launched a new $400 million fund two years ago.

Existing Aqua Security investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Insight Partners and StepStone Group also participated in the round.

In an arid funding landscape where much beyond low single-digit seed rounds are hard to come by, Aqua’s latest cash injection could indicate a degree of investor confidence as the company seeks new capital to power growth. However, Aqua Security’s valuation has seemingly remained the same as it was some three years ago when its Series E round was first announced. In March, 2021, Aqua Security said its valuation was “in excess of $1 billion,” and today it says its valuation is “above” $1 billion.

Three years is a long time to woo would-be investors with impressive growth metrics, so a stagnant valuation could suggest that business isn’t entirely rosy — but on the flip-side, a new lead investor could also serve as an additional external validation of the startup’s potential prospects.