Backed by Triangle VC, with a sales team based in Raleigh, cybersecurity startup FortifyData raises additional $5M

RALEIGH – FortifyData, a startup headquartered in Atlanta with a sales development team based in the Triangle, has raised $5 million in new funding.

The new funding round was led by Tech Square Ventures.  Prior investor Oval Park Capital, which is based in Raleigh, participated in the new funding round as well.  Other investors who participated in the round include the Softbank Opportunity Fund and Panoramic Ventures.

“In today’s world, cyber risks cannot be assessed using a fixed risk model, as every entity and their threat landscape is different and should be presented accurately. We are proud to pioneer a solution to address these issues,” said Victor Gamra, FortifyData’s CEO, in a press statement shared with WRAL TechWire.  “Our alliance with these investors gives us the opportunity to accelerate our growth and support the consistent high demand for our platform.”

The company provides a risk quantification that includes both internal and external vulnerability, aggregated threat intelligence, and visibility of third-party or vendor risks, according to FortifyData’s vice president of marketing, Marshall England.

The result is that clients can classify their systems and the data that they process, store or transmit, as well as configure risk models unique to existing IT systems and customized to preferred exposure level.

“All this yields a more accurate risk rating and is also used to provide a quantified or financial view of an organization’s risk,” said England.

The company’s clients broad, and span multiple industries, including finance, education, utilities, and retail.

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Existing companies, which England called “legacy vendors,” may not include the internal risk information necessary to best assess risk, and properly guard against a data breach, said England.

The company recommends that businesses investigate and invest in protecting against cybersecurity vulnerabilities such as zero-day vulnerabilities, which can reside in software or hardware an organization uses to run their business or services, for which security patches would not be available, and vulnerabilities due to digital transformation, where companies integrate and rely on third-party software in order to provide a core service or product.

Common use cases observed by the company for its products, said England, include the desire to receive a “360-degree view” of cybersecurity within a centralized platform, a financial quantification of risk, cloud security posture management, threat intelligence, and attack surface management, said England.

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The company saw 250% revenue growth in 2021, and England noted that the company is projecting similar growth in 2022, bolstered by the infusion of growth capital, some of which will be allocated to expanding the company’s employee base.

Many of those positions could be hired in the Triangle, as the company’s growth targets will rely on its sales development team, which is based in Raleigh and headed by the company’s vice president of sales, Jake Johnson.

“We expect to grow the team of sales development representatives, with immediate availability,” said England, adding that the company does not yet maintain an office facility in the Triangle, rather relies on remote-based work environments and collaborative, flexible work spaces for when in-person company activities are needed.

The company is actively hiring, according to job postings on its website.