Crowdsourced security solutions provider Bugcrowd has announced it has secured $102 million in strategic growth funding to scale its security platform.
Founded in 2012, Bugcrowd specializes in AI-powered security that leverages the collective expertise of a network of over half a million hackers to identify and remediate vulnerabilities before they are exploited.
The firm runs a ‘bug bounty’ initiative that enables organizations to connect with developers and offer cash rewards for identifying software vulnerabilities.
The company’s latest funding round was led by General Catalyst and includes participation from existing investors Rally Ventures and Costanoa Ventures.
Bugcrowd said it will leverage the funds to accelerate growth across EMEA, APAC, and the US, drive innovation for its Bugcrowd Platform, as well as seek opportunities for strategic acquisitions.
The investment will also see new additions to the Bugcrowd boardroom, including General Catalyst partner, Mark Crane, and General Catalyst senior advisor, Paul Sagan, who becomes board chair.
Additionally, T-Mobile’s chief security officer, Jeff Simon, and Navan’s vice president and global head of security, Prabhath Karanth, join David Fairman, Netskope CIO and CSO for APAC, on the advisory board.
“We saw an opportunity to make a strategic investment in the crowdsourced security market, with the goal of fostering collaboration between customers and hackers to collectively tackle real threats and vulnerabilities,” Crane commented.
"In our view, the validation from customers, hackers, industry analysts, and the broader cyber security community, well positions Bugcrowd to be a category-leading company.”
The fresh investment follows hot on the heels of a strong twelve months for Bugcrowd. Over the past year, the company has increased its list of clients by more than 200 to take its total to over 1000, with new additions including OpenAI, T-Mobile, Rapyd, and ExpressVPN.
The firm has also added over 100 new staff to its ranks and achieved overall business growth of more than 40%, while its pentest as a service (PTaaS) business grew by almost 100% year-over-year.
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In 2023, Bugcrowd said its security platform helped customers discover almost 23,000 high-impact vulnerabilities and prevent estimated total breach-related costs of $100 billion.
Advisory board member David Fairman said the company’s latest funding injection will enable the company to build on this progress and further scale its offering.
“This next stage of growth is a testament to Bugcrowd’s commitment to enabling businesses to stay ahead of today’s most sophisticated cyber threats by working together as a community,” he commented.
“As a Bugcrowd customer, and as an advisory board member, I am confident that the team will expand on their proven track record of leading the industry with their innovative solutions that leverage the power of crowdsourced security testing and intelligence.
“With this new funding, Bugcrowd will have the ability to further scale up their platform, expand their global network of hackers, and deliver more value to their customers and the security community at large.”
