Picus Security closes $24m Series B funding to accelerate North America expansion and worldwide growth

The Picus platform simulates real-world cyber threats to help businesses improve the effectiveness of security controls and measure risk

SAN FRANCISCO and ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Picus Security, the pioneer of Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) technology, today announced the completion of its $24 million Series B funding round. The investment is led by Turkven with participation from existing investor, Earlybird Venture Capital, as well as cyber security veteran, Nathan Dornbrook. The round brings Picus' total funding to $33 million and will be used to help accelerate the company's expansion in North America as well as across EMEA and APAC.

The Picus Complete Security Control Validation Platform simulates real-world cyber threats, including ransomware and APT groups, to enable enterprises to continuously assess and improve the effectiveness of their security controls. The platform includes more than 11,000 attacks and 70,000 actionable mitigations, and is updated daily to reflect the latest adversarial techniques and behaviors.

"For too long, organizations have been forced to make assumptions about the state of their security posture," said H. Alper Memis, Picus Security Co-founder, and CEO. "The Picus platform puts an end to this uncertainty by helping security teams to measure and improve the effectiveness of their security controls to prevent, detect and respond to threats. This latest funding will ensure that we continue to offer customers the most complete security control validation platform  - one that not only continuously tests the latest tools but also helps to optimize them with less effort."

Established in 2013, Picus is recognized by Frost & Sullivan as one of the most innovative vendors in the Breach and Attack Simulation market^[1] and is the highest-rated BAS company based on reviews submitted to Gartner Peer Insights^[2]. With the support of its channel and managed services partners, Picus's international business has grown 400% since 2019. 

"Picus is the pioneer of breach and attack simulation, and we are excited to support the company as it takes continuous security control validation to the next level," said Seymur Tari, Turkven CEO. "All corporate boards have to manage the business and reputational risks of cybersecurity breaches. With the Picus platform, they can obtain real-time insights to more clearly assess their security posture, better understand the value of investments, and make more informed decisions."

Earlier this year, research and advisory firm Gartner identified BAS as one of its top security and risk trends^[3]  - one that is only set to continue as security teams struggle to stay on top of operations and protect a larger attack surface.

"The day-to-day workload of security teams can be overwhelming," said Cem Sertoglu, Partner at Earlybird Digital East. "Picus helps to ease the strain and ensure that security tools are ready to defend organizations against the latest threats as they emerge. We are delighted to support the vision of the Picus team and help them to establish the company as the category leader in the emerging Breach and Attack Simulation market."

As security teams and business leaders shift from a reactive to a proactive approach to security, Picus Security has introduced its Purple Academy. Purple Academy offers free online training to help learners of all levels improve their knowledge of the latest cyber-attack methods and defense strategies. To date, more than 4,500 students in 160 countries have completed courses.

Notes for editors

Images of the team: https://www.picussecurity.com/image-stock  
Password: eGyW2PZcScJaN$R

^[1] Frost Radar™: Global Breach and Attack Simulation Market, 2020
^[2] Information correct as of 12^th October 2021. 
^[3] Gartner Top Security and Risk Management Trends 2021, March 2021

About Picus Security

The Picus Complete Security Control Validation Platform safely simulates real-world cyber-threats to continuously assess, measure and help optimize the performance of security controls. Picus validates controls at prevention and detection layers, including NGFW, SIEM and EDR tools, and supplies easy-to-apply, vendor-specific mitigation content that enables security teams to swiftly address threat coverage and visibility gaps. 

About Turkven

Established in 2000, Turkven is a leading alternative asset manager with an AUM of $1.5 billion. Turkven advised funds have invested in 30 companies resulting in total placements of over $5 billion and 21 exits. The firm specializes in high-growth companies and has a culture of company-building and industry expertise. Turkven's portfolio currently employs a workforce of over 50,000, of which 46% are women. Further information is available at www.turkven.com

About Earlybird Venture Capital

Earlybird is a pan-European venture capital investor focused on early-stage technology companies. Earlybird Digital East is one of the three autonomous, dedicated, and specialized teams within the Earlybird family, investing in ambitious technology ventures hailing from Emerging Europe. With over $400m in committed capital, the firm's portfolio includes some of the most successful startups in the region, including UiPath. Earlybird currently has over €1.5 billion under management, eight IPOs, and 30 trade sales. Further information is available at https://www.earlybird.com

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