Tampa, Fla.-based , one of the hottest cybersecurity startups, has raised more than $500 million in a round co-led by Sweden鈥檚 EQT, KKR and New York-based FTV Capital. Existing investors Ten Eleven Ventures, a West Coast firm with offices in Boston, and Finback Investment Partners, of Coral Gables, Fla., participated.
The whopping funding round raised ReliaQuest鈥檚 valuation to $3.4 billion, as the company advances innovation in agentic AI-driven cybersecurity automation, and ongoing international expansion.
鈥淐ybersecurity is the largest technical challenge of our generation, and the CISOs and security teams who have signed up for this challenge are some of the most talented and driven entrepreneurs I鈥檝e ever met,鈥� ReliaQuest co-founder and CEO said on LinkedIn. 鈥淚鈥檓 fired up about how much more we can do together, as we continue to innovate with our AI-powered security operations platform.鈥� Murphy, who has a degree in finance and accounting, earlier was chair of Florida鈥檚 startup hub Embarc Collective.
ReliaQuest leans on an AI-focused approach to cybersecurity, as global threats mount. Its technology platform called GreyMatter integrates with over 200 different cybersecurity tools. Since the company鈥檚 last funding round led by KKR in 2020, ReliaQuest says its annual recurring revenue has grown more than 4x 鈥� recently surpassing $300 million. It also claims to be profitable and growing at over 30% year over year. The company claims 1,000鈥痗ustomers.
鈥淲hen we first invested in ReliaQuest in 2020, we recognized its enormous potential given the rise of cyberattacks and the challenges cybersecurity teams faced in managing a multitude of tools with limited manpower,鈥� said Stephen Shanley, partner and head of Tech Growth in Europe at KKR. 鈥淥ver the years, the company has transformed with its leading AI-driven software platform, a relentless focus on innovation and a unique company culture.鈥�
FTV Capital partner Kyle Griswold said he has 鈥渨itnessed first-hand Brian鈥檚 visionary leadership,鈥� as he transformed a bootstrapped startup into a leading global player in the cybersecurity ecosystem.
鈥淲ith consistent outperformance and a proven track record of serving many of the world鈥檚 largest enterprises, it鈥檚 clear that ReliaQuest鈥檚 AI-driven platform is uniquely positioned to empower customers with a best-of-breed approach towards cybersecurity, improving automation, operational efficiencies and, most critically, results,鈥� Grisworld said.
