Cybersecurity firm Socket raises $40 mln with backing from Bret Taylor, Jerry Yang
Technology
Cybersecurity firm Socket raises $40 mln with backing from Bret Taylor, Jerry Yang
(Reuters) - Cybersecurity services provider Socket said on Tuesday it has raised $40 million in a mid-stage round from a host of existing and new investors, including OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor, Yahoo Co-Founder Jerry Yang and Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke.
The funding was led by Abstract Ventures. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz also participated.
Startups that use artificial intelligence technology have attracted investors' attention even as dealmaking activity has remained subdued in private markets elsewhere. Socket uses AI to detect and prevent threats in open-source code.
While the company did not disclose the valuation at which the funding round happened, a source familiar with the matter said it was around $500 million.
Socket, which has raised $65 million to date, plans to use the proceeds to build out its team across engineering, product, and design.
Founded in 2021, the company currently supports six programming languages, including Java and Ruby.
Socket claims to detect and block more than 100 software supply chain attacks every week. Its services are used by over 7,500 organizations.
