Sonae IM leads 46-million-euro investment in the Israeli American SafeBreach
Jornal de Negócios
· 10 Nov 2021
Sonae's technology investment arm co-led the fifth round of funding (Series D) of this pioneering company in the market of simulations of cyber-attacks and data leaks, representing "the largest investment made in a solution in this space".
Half a dozen years later, Sonae IM led, together with Israel Growth Partners (IGP), the fifth round of funding (Series D) of the company, worth 53.5 million dollars (46.2 million euros), in what is "the largest investment made in a solution in this space", guarantees the technological investment arm of Sonae, in a statement.
A round that more than doubles the investment made in SafeBreach, bringing the company's total funding to more than $106 million (€91.6 million).
"The capital will enable the company to expand into new geographies, as well as continue to improve its solutions in response to client needs", advances Sonae IM, highlighting that "SafeBreach supports companies in the Fortune 1000 list, among which are the five largest financial companies, as well as others in the areas of healthcare and pharmaceuticals that are at the forefront of the development of Covid-19 vaccines and the remediation of the pandemic”.
"SafeBreach holds the most comprehensive attack simulation platform on the market - besides having over 21,000 mapped attack methods, it has flexible prioritization capabilities, with multiple integration possibilities and remediation options - while being simple to implement", highlights Carlos Alberto Silva, the managing partner at Sonae IM.
"We have never had such strong and positive feedback from demanding clients, and we are excited to support the company in accelerating its commercial expansion", says Carlos Alberto Silva, who will join the board of directors of SafeBreach, a company based in California, USA, and that has its R&D center in Israel's capital.
"At IGP, we look to invest in segment leaders and SafeBreach is an ideal example of the type of organization and technology we support", says Assaf Harel, general partner at IGP.
"The Breach and Attack Simulation market has seen significant growth, which was intensified during this past year, and SafeBreach has all the potential to continue to lead it. We are excited to support the team in leading this trend in the coming years", says Harel, who will also be a member of SafeBreach's board.
Scott Frederick, managing director of Sands Capital, who participated in this latest round of funding for SafeBreach, will also observe the company's board. Bank Leumi and the strategic investor ServiceNow have also joined the existing investors.
"As we enter a new growth phase, this investment will expand significantly our resources to cover new markets while increasing the availability of our continuous security validation platform, widely used in large enterprises and at a global scale", explains Guy Bejerano, CEO of SafeBreach.
"Against the scenario of constantly evolving cyber threats, many organizations have invested in buying more security products, hoping that it would make them more secure. But hope is not a viable strategy - a holistic view of risk is required", he assures.
According to Gartner, organizations that adopt risk-based vulnerability management will have 80% fewer cybersecurity breaches, and SafeBreach guarantees that its platform "presents detected vulnerabilities in a personalized way, allowing users to focus on the greatest risks to the organization".
Created half a dozen years ago, from a discussion within the group controlled by the Azevedo family about growth areas, Sonae Investment Management (Sonae IM) continues shopping around the world, having already disbursed more than 200 million euros.
It already has around 40 direct investments, integrating stakes in companies on a global scale, from early to growth stages, and in strategic business areas such as cybersecurity, digital infrastructure and technology applied to retail.
In September 2014, in Tel Aviv, Guy Bejerano, who was director of security, and Itzik Kotler, "hacker" of Israel Defense Forces, founded SafeBreach, a pioneering BAS - "Breach and Attack Simulation" (cyber-attack simulation) company, which in the very next July was able to raise four million dollars (3.5 million euros) from investors in the first round of funding.
Half a dozen years later, Sonae IM led, together with Israel Growth Partners (IGP), the fifth round of funding (Series D) of the company, worth 53.5 million dollars (46.2 million euros), in what is "the largest investment made in a solution in this space", guarantees the technological investment arm of Sonae, in a statement.
A round that more than doubles the investment made in SafeBreach, bringing the company's total funding to more than $106 million (€91.6 million).
"The capital will enable the company to expand into new geographies, as well as continue to improve its solutions in response to client needs", advances Sonae IM, highlighting that "SafeBreach supports companies in the Fortune 1000 list, among which are the five largest financial companies, as well as others in the areas of healthcare and pharmaceuticals that are at the forefront of the development of Covid-19 vaccines and the remediation of the pandemic”.
"SafeBreach holds the most comprehensive attack simulation platform on the market - besides having over 21,000 mapped attack methods, it has flexible prioritization capabilities, with multiple integration possibilities and remediation options - while being simple to implement", highlights Carlos Alberto Silva, the managing partner at Sonae IM.
"We have never had such strong and positive feedback from demanding clients, and we are excited to support the company in accelerating its commercial expansion", says Carlos Alberto Silva, who will join the board of directors of SafeBreach, a company based in California, USA, and that has its R&D center in Israel's capital.
"At IGP, we look to invest in segment leaders and SafeBreach is an ideal example of the type of organization and technology we support", says Assaf Harel, general partner at IGP.
"The Breach and Attack Simulation market has seen significant growth, which was intensified during this past year, and SafeBreach has all the potential to continue to lead it. We are excited to support the team in leading this trend in the coming years", says Harel, who will also be a member of SafeBreach's board.
Scott Frederick, managing director of Sands Capital, who participated in this latest round of funding for SafeBreach, will also observe the company's board. Bank Leumi and the strategic investor ServiceNow have also joined the existing investors.
"As we enter a new growth phase, this investment will expand significantly our resources to cover new markets while increasing the availability of our continuous security validation platform, widely used in large enterprises and at a global scale", explains Guy Bejerano, CEO of SafeBreach.
"Against the scenario of constantly evolving cyber threats, many organizations have invested in buying more security products, hoping that it would make them more secure. But hope is not a viable strategy - a holistic view of risk is required", he assures.
According to Gartner, organizations that adopt risk-based vulnerability management will have 80% fewer cybersecurity breaches, and SafeBreach guarantees that its platform "presents detected vulnerabilities in a personalized way, allowing users to focus on the greatest risks to the organization".
Created half a dozen years ago, from a discussion within the group controlled by the Azevedo family about growth areas, Sonae Investment Management (Sonae IM) continues shopping around the world, having already disbursed more than 200 million euros.
It already has around 40 direct investments, integrating stakes in companies on a global scale, from early to growth stages, and in strategic business areas such as cybersecurity, digital infrastructure and technology applied to retail.
