SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--WhiteHat Security, the Web security company, today announced it has received a strategic growth investment from new investor JMI Equity, with additional participation from existing investor, Investor Growth Capital (IGC). This latest investment comes in support of WhiteHat’s robust growth and innovation over the past decade as a true market disrupter, and will accelerate momentum around several strategic business initiatives, including an increased focus on the small-to medium-sized enterprise (SME) market, sales of its recently launched Sentinel Mobile and Sentinel Source offerings, and continued expansion internationally and with enterprise customers.
“From the start, WhiteHat has been driving Web security to the forefront of the industry by helping organizations understand the importance of securing their most critical assets at the application layer,” said Stephanie Fohn, CEO of WhiteHat Security. “WhiteHat has established a leadership position in the enterprise and we have the resources and expertise to expand our market share globally with enterprise customers and within SME. JMI and IGC have experience working with a significant number of successful companies in the SaaS and security markets. We believe they will be valuable partners in our continued success.”
With year-over-year growth in new bookings of more than 75 percent and a customer retention rate north of 95 percent, WhiteHat secures the Web applications of some of the largest worldwide brands, encompassing more than one billion customer accounts. Since the company launched in 2001, it has made considerable inroads within the e-commerce, financial services, technology, and healthcare markets with its flagship WhiteHat Sentinel product line. This investment will enable WhiteHat to further that momentum by expanding into new global markets as well as broaden its market share with enterprise and SME customers.
The recent launches of Sentinel Mobile, which extends Sentinel-quality security to applications on mobile platforms, and Sentinel Source, an innovative approach to ensuring application security from application inception, have also significantly contributed to WhiteHat Sentinel’s continued technology leadership and customer adoption.
According to 451 Research, by 2014 the aggregate application security market is projected to reach $1 billion1, with the dynamic application security testing (DAST) market reaching $453 million. WhiteHat is positioned to build upon its strong market leadership position as its growth continues to outpace the market.
“Web application vulnerabilities are rising at an alarming rate in recent years and can have a dramatic impact on a company’s business and reputation,” said Peter Arrowsmith, General Partner at JMI Equity. “WhiteHat’s holistic approach to security throughout the software development lifecycle – from source code through completed production application – provides an advantage that few security providers can achieve. We believe that this approach differentiates WhiteHat as a true leader in the application security space, and we are pleased to partner with the company as it continues to meet a critical market need.”
About WhiteHat Security, Inc.
Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, WhiteHat Security provides end-to-end solutions for Web security. The company’s cloud website vulnerability management platform and leading security engineers turn verified security intelligence into actionable insights for customers. Through a combination of core products and strategic partnerships, WhiteHat Security provides complete Web security at a scale and accuracy unmatched in the industry. WhiteHat Sentinel, the company’s flagship product line, currently manages more than 11,000 websites – including sites in the most regulated industries as well as top e-commerce, finance and healthcare companies.
To improve your organization’s Web security, sign up for a custom, no-cost 30-day security evaluation by WhiteHat Sentinel SecurityCheck at www.WhiteHatSec.com
About JMI Equity
JMI Equity is a leading growth equity firm focused on investing in growing software, internet, business services and healthcare IT companies. Founded in 1992, JMI has invested in more than 100 businesses in its target markets and has over $2.1 billion of committed capital under management. JMI provides capital for growth, recapitalizations, acquisitions and buyouts. Representative investments include DoubleClick, Eloqua, Navicure, Nimsoft, PointClickCare and ServiceNow. For more information on JMI, visit www.jmi.com.
About Investor Growth Capital
Investor Growth Capital is a global venture capital firm backed by Investor AB, with offices in New York, Menlo Park, Beijing, and Stockholm. Since its formation in the mid‐1990’s, IGC has focused on partnering with exceptional, expansion‐stage companies in the technology and healthcare industries. Today, IGC manages an evergreen fund with more than 100 portfolio companies worldwide and assets exceeding $1.5 billion. More at www.investorgrowthcapital.com.
1 “The Application Security Spectrum, From Concept to Cloud,” (2011). 451 Research.