KKR L P : Safeguarding the Enterprise with Darktrace

By Stephen Shanley Jul 11, 2017

Every week we see headlines on a new cyber security breach, reminding organizations of all sizes and across all industries how vulnerable they are to increasingly prevalent and sophisticated cyber threats. Cyber security is, or should be, a key focus for every board and management team, who are responsible for ensuring the right defense solutions are deployed to protect their organization. We see Darktrace as a key element of this protection.

Using a unique application of artificial intelligence (AI) to cyber security, Darktrace's product has proven an ability to identify threats that bypass the traditional security stacks - delivering unmatched protection that couldn't be more relevant right now. Cyber attacks are an issue of when, not if, and companies need modern, sophisticated products like Darktrace to form defense systems that address the next generation of cyber attacks. For this reason, we are proud to further our commitment with portfolio company Darktrace and to have participated in their latest $75 million financing round to accelerate the next stage of the company's growth.

Since we last invested in 2016, Darktrace has continued to innovate and extend its leadership position in the sector. The company has strengthened its core offerings and has made exciting headway in addressing the IoT and OT markets. Most notably, Darktrace launched Antigena, an extension of Darktrace's core product that, in addition to detecting and alerting, automatically contains threats. This major advancement allows systems to automatically self-defend against attacks, providing security teams with time to address breaches while significantly reducing the potential impact of any breach.

Darktrace is experiencing tremendous growth at scale, driven by a highly differentiated product that, quite simply, works. In the last year, Darktrace reached 3,000 global deployments, saw total contracted value surpass $200 million, and grew its U.S. business 3x. In addition to this fantastic financial trajectory, the company's technology garnered a host of awards from major organizations and publications such as the Royal Academy of Engineering, Fast Company, the Stevies, and the AIconics, among others.

Congratulations to Darktrace on its accomplishments so far and we look forward to continuing on this journey with Nicole Eagan, Poppy Gustafsson and entire Darktrace team.

The views expressed reflect the current views of the writer as of the date hereof and neither the writer nor KKR undertakes to advise you of any changes in the views expressed herein. Opinions or statements regarding current events or trends are based on current conditions and are subject to change without notice. The views expressed herein may not be reflected in the strategies and products that KKR offers or invests, including strategies and products to which the writer provides assistance with or on behalf of KKR. It should not be assumed that the writer has made or will make recommendations in the future that are consistent with the views expressed herein, or use any or all of the analyses described herein. Further, KKR and its affiliates may have positions (long or short) or engage in securities transactions that are not consistent with the information and views expressed in this document.