Analysis
Cybersecurity and privacy startups raised $6.8 billion globally in the third quarter, up roughly 50% from the prior quarter and tied for the highest quarterly total in years, according to Crunchbase News. The increase came entirely from bigger checks: round counts fell sequentially across every stage even as the total climbed.
At least 18 companies at the intersection of AI and cybersecurity closed rounds of $100 million or more:
“- Island -- $400 million Series F in September, led by Evolution Equity Partners, at a $6.4 billion post-money valuation.”
- Keyfactor -- $1 billion growth round in July, led by Summit Partners; founded in 2001, with most of its venture funding raised only in the past decade.
- Island -- $400 million Series F in September, led by Evolution Equity Partners, at a $6.4 billion post-money valuation.
- Cyera -- $400 million growth round from Goldman Sachs Growth Equity in September, three months after a $600 million raise, at a $12 billion valuation.
Identity security is where AI and cybersecurity funding overlap most. Cyera didn't just raise capital; it acquired Oasis Security, an enterprise access-management platform for AI agents, in a deal reportedly worth around $1 billion, consolidating a category Pluto Security is also chasing with an earlier, much smaller round this month.
Exits outside of M&A stayed scarce. Visa's $2.4 billion purchase of fraud-detection provider BioCatch in August was the quarter's largest deal, while Aura's market debut -- achieved by acquiring Australian public company Qoria rather than a traditional IPO -- was, per Crunchbase, the only sizable venture-backed listing in a "fairly sluggish" IPO market.