Israeli startup Cato Networks has recently secured an impressive $238 million in funding from a round led by LightSpeed Venture Partners. The investment values the company at over $3 billion and brings its total raised capital to $770 million. Cato Networks specializes in providing a comprehensive solution that combines software-defined networking, managed cybersecurity, and global backbone services into a single offering.
Key Takeaway
Cato Networks, a Tel Aviv-based startup, has raised $238 million in funding, valuing the company at over $3 billion. The investment will allow Cato to further scale its operations and continue providing its cloud-native network and comprehensive security offering. With the rapid growth of distributed workforces, SD-WAN, and SASE solutions, Cato is well-positioned in the market to address the evolving challenges of network security and management.
Expanding in Key Areas
With this new funding, Cato Networks plans to scale its organization in three main areas. Firstly, they aim to deliver their vision and customer success to a broader audience. Secondly, they intend to expand their partner ecosystem offering, which will enhance their overall solution. Finally, Cato Networks plans to grow their engineering and product team, which plays a crucial role in driving their innovative capabilities forward.
Minimizing Complexity and Risks
Cato Networks was founded in 2015 by Shlomo Kramer, a serial entrepreneur with a background in computer science and mathematics. His objective was to create a platform and architecture that simplifies network security by reducing the complexity, costs, and risks associated with traditional approaches. Cato’s cloud-based mesh allows businesses to connect to network resources from anywhere in the world, regardless of their location. This approach solves challenges related to the evolving threat landscape, securing remote and hybrid work environments, and providing scalable and agile solutions.
AI-Driven Security and Management
Cato Networks utilizes purpose-built AI to process threat intelligence feeds and filter out irrelevant indicators of compromise. Their AI models continuously learn from network flows and metadata, enabling robust security and management applications such as data loss prevention and malicious file detection over the network. Deep learning algorithms are also employed to identify malicious domains commonly used in phishing and ransomware attacks.
Embracing SD-WAN and SASE
As organizations adapt to distributed workforces and the increasing number of devices on their networks, software-defined wide area networks (SD-WAN) and secure access service edge (SASE) solutions are gaining popularity. Cato Networks combines both these technologies to provide a cloud-native network with built-in enterprise security capabilities. SD-WAN revenue is projected to reach $6.4 billion in 2025, while SASE growth saw a significant increase of over 30% in Q2 2022 compared to Q1 alone.
Achieving Rapid Growth
Cato Networks has experienced rapid growth, even amidst competition from established players like Palo Alto Networks. The company boasts a customer base of over 1,900 businesses, with approximately 670,000 remote users connected to their network. They crossed the milestone of $100 million in annual recurring revenue last year, a testament to their success in simplifying network and security operations for enterprises.
