Cybersecurity Startup Island raised $250 million in the Series E round, pushing its valuation to $4.8 billion. This has risen sharply for just five months now, more than four times the valuation of $1.5 billion in October 2023.
The news comes a week after Google Parent Alphabet announced its $32 billion acquisition of cloud security startup Wiz. This is the biggest deal in the company’s history, and is cybersecurity (a clear signal that cloud and browser-based solutions are the best in mind, especially for investors and corporate buyers).
The island’s latest round continued to support its Sequoia capital, Insight Partners, Stripe, Georgian, Cyberstad and Pricem Capital. The company currently raises more than $730 million in total funding. Following the $100 million Series C in October 2023, it attracted $175 million in April 2024 at a $3 billion valuation.
The island can use fresh capital to expand product development, hire more talent and keep up with the growing companies it demands.
Founded in 2022 by CEOs Mike Fey and CTO Dan Amiga, Island is developing what is called the Enterprise Browser. It is a secure, dedicated browser that gives users complete control over how users interact with apps and data. From blocking screenshots to inserting multifactor authentication, the browser is packed with controls that standard consumer browsers don’t offer.
“The Enterprise Browser upgrades web browsers from dedicated consumer software packages to enterprise-ready solutions, adding value to knowledge workers, IT departments and security teams. Island improves productivity, simplifies IT stacks, embeds security, embeds security.
Island co-founder and CTO Dan Amiga leads the company’s R&D business in Tel Aviv, where 200 of the company’s 450+ employees are based. Amiga previously founded Fireglass, a cybersecurity startup that Symantec acquired for $250 million. He is also involved in building or investing in other security startups, such as Axis Security, Cycode, Build.security (acquired by Elastic).
Island says it counts customers from 450 companies, including Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies and universities. According to the company, annual recurring revenues have more than doubled each year since launch.
The demand for safe browsing tools has taken up steam in recent months. After the outage of cloud strike last year caused widespread operational disruption, many businesses began rethinking endpoint security. Instead of using third-party tools to patch traditional browsers, Island offers a single environment where security, data control and application access are all built into it.
Fey says the new capital will help the company grow its product development, bring more talent and meet the growing demand. “Our organizations of all sizes and industry have made Island a cornerstone of the IT modernization initiative,” he said.
Amiga added that customer input shaped the product from day one. “To build a new category like an enterprise browser requires more than technology. It requires deep partnership and trust,” he said. “Customer collaboration has helped us design solutions that balance security, efficiency and smooth user experiences that we didn’t see in the enterprise world.”
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