Startup Zscaler Raises $100M for Cloud Security Technology

Security startups continue to cash in with Zscaler being the latest to join companies like BitSight, Menlo Security and CounterTack on the list of new firms being funded to bolster their respective security strategies.

Based in San Jose, California, Zscaler recently received a sizeable amount–$100 million—in a new round of financing led by TPG, with TPG Partner Nehal Raj joining Zscaler’s board of directors, the company said in a press release. Investors EMC and Lightspeed Ventures also contributed to the round.

Zscaler offers cloud security as a service that’s designed to scale and deliver real-time insights into enterprise security concerns and problems, according to the company.

Thousands of enterprises and government organizations–including United Airlines, Humana, NBC and National Health Services of the UK—already are using the platform to protect more than 13 million employees. Moreover, the company said it secures more than 15 billion Internet requests and stops more than 100 million cyber-threats per day.

Zscaler plans to use the funding to accelerate technology investment, grow its customer base and scale its business to meet demand, said Jay Chaudhry, CEO of Zscaler, in the release.

Indeed, the company is getting some notable recognition and growing quickly, making Gartner’s “Magic Quadrant” list for secure Web gateways for the fifth consecutive year in 2015, as well as winning recognition from Forrester Research as a leader in the SaaS Web Content Security category in the second quarter of this year. The privately held company recently reached a value in excess of $1 billion, Chaudhry said.

“Our mission is to make the Internet safe for business by delivering an amazing security platform that protects our clients and enables the strategic adoption of cloud computing, mobile devices and the Internet of Things,” he said.

TPG Growth, TPG’s middle-market fund with more than $7 billion in assets under management and committed capital, will provide the new funding for Zscaler. The fund focuses on emerging technologies, industries and markets.

The company saw Zscaler as a sound investment as the leading cloud-based security solution for large customers with significant security demands, said TPG’s Raj.

“We are looking forward to partnering with Jay and his team to accelerate growth, most immediately by introducing Zscaler to the potential customers and channel partners within our global network,” he said in the release.