Darktrace Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Darktrace was acquired by Thoma Bravo for $5.3B in April 2024, a 9.8x multiple on $545M of revenue.
Darktrace acquisition price
$5.3B
Acquired by Thoma Bravo · Apr 2024
Darktrace revenue at acquisition
$545M
Last twelve months · Apr 2024
Darktrace revenue multiple at acquisition
9.8x
EV/Revenue · Apr 2024
Darktrace EBITDA multiple at acquisition
38.2x
EV/EBITDA · Apr 2024
About Darktrace
Darktrace is a cybersecurity company deploying self-learning AI modeled on the human immune system to detect and respond to threats across cloud, email, IoT, networks, and industrial control systems. The platform autonomously neutralizes attacks including zero-day malware, insider threats, and supply chain compromises every three seconds. Darktrace protects over 3,500 organizations worldwide from San Francisco-headquartered operations and Cambridge, UK headquarters with 44 offices globally. Listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2021, it serves sectors like finance, healthcare, and government.
Founded
2013
HQ
CambridgeWebsite
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Subscription
Revenue
$545M (Apr 2024)
Valuation
$1.6B (Sep 2018)
Darktrace Acquisition
Darktrace was acquired by Thoma Bravo for $5.3B on 26 April 2024.
The acquisition price implies a 9.8x revenue and 38.2x EBITDA multiple on $545M of revenue.
Before the acquisition Darktrace had raised $231M across 5 funding rounds.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Apr 2024 | PE buyout | $5.3B | 9.8x | 38.2x |
Darktrace Valuation
Darktrace is currently valued at $1.6B, based on its Series E in September 2018.
The $50M round was led by Vitruvian Partners, with participation from KKR, Ten Eleven Ventures, Sweetwater Capital Partners and Hoxton Ventures.
Darktrace's valuation has grown 21x from $80M at its Series A in March 2015 to $1.6B in September 2018, across 5 priced rounds.
Darktrace valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2018 | Series E | $1.6B |
| Jul 2017 | Series D | $825M |
| Jul 2016 | Series C | $400M |
| Jul 2015 | Series B | $400M |
| Mar 2015 | Series A | $80M |
Darktrace Funding History
Darktrace has raised a total of $231M across 5 funding rounds.
Darktrace's first fundraising round was a $18M Series A in March 2015. The most recent completed round was a $50M Series E in September 2018.
Darktrace funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2018 | Series E | Vitruvian Partners (lead); KKR; Ten Eleven Ventures; Sweetwater Capital Partners; Hoxton Ventures | $50M | $1.6B | - |
| Jul 2017 | Series D | Insight Partners (lead); KKR; Ten Eleven Ventures; Summit Partners | $75M | $825M | Darktrace, a UK-based AI cybersecurity company founded in 2013, develops the Enterprise Immune System, a machine-learning platform that detects and responds to cyber threats in real time without prior setup, targeting enterprises across sectors like finance, telecom, retail, healthcare, and government. In July 2017, it raised $75 million in a Series D round led by Insight Partners (also called Insight Venture Partners), with participation from existing investors Summit Partners, KKR, and Ten Eleven Ventures, bringing total funding to nearly $180 million. The post-money valuation was reported as $825 million by multiple sources, positioning it near unicorn status. At the time, Darktrace reported a total contract value of $200 million, up 140% year-over-year, with around 3,000 customers and deployments worldwide across 24 offices and over 500 employees. Strong US growth drove threefold increases in bookings there, with new funds allocated to expand sales into Latin America and Asia Pacific, alongside investments in sales, marketing, and its AI autonomous response solution Antigena. The company emphasized its differentiation through self-configuring AI that handles zero-days, insiders, and stealthy attacks. Investors highlighted Darktrace's rapid growth, product-market fit, and leadership in AI-powered security just four years post-founding. This round preceded a 2018 Series E at $1.65 billion valuation led by Vitruvian Partners. |
| Jul 2016 | Series C | KKR (lead); Ten Eleven Ventures; SoftBank Group; Hoxton Ventures; Summit Partners | $65M | $400M | Darktrace, a Cambridge-based cybersecurity company founded in 2013, develops the Enterprise Immune System, an AI-driven platform that detects anomalous network behavior, including unusual email activity and file uploads, using machine learning techniques derived from Cambridge University research. The technology targets sophisticated threats, including rapid cyberattacks and stealthy dormant activities, with automation for quick response, and serves over 1,000 customers across financial institutions, telecoms, legal firms, retailers, tech companies, government, and critical infrastructure. In July 2016, Darktrace raised $65 million in a Series C growth equity round led by KKR, with participation from existing investor Summit Partners, and new investors TenEleven Ventures and SoftBank-affiliated SB ISAT Fund. The round valued the company at more than $400 million post-money, as reported by TechCrunch and Business Insider. Funds were allocated to accelerate global expansion, international rollout of the technology, and R&D, particularly for countering emerging machine-learning-based attacks. Founder Mike Lynch's Invoke Capital provided early backing and operational support, highlighting Darktrace as his fastest-growing investment. Investors praised the unique threat detection capabilities that outperform traditional solutions. The round aligned with KKR's focus on cybersecurity advancements, positioning Darktrace as a leader amid annual global cybercrime losses exceeding $400 billion. |
| Jul 2015 | Series B | Summit Partners (lead) | $23M | $400M | Darktrace is a cybersecurity company utilizing AI, specifically its Enterprise Immune System technology, to detect and respond to cyber threats by learning normal behavior patterns in real-time. Founded in 2013, the company had expanded significantly by mid-2016, with over 1,200 deployments, offices in more than 20 locations worldwide, 300 employees, and partnerships with major telcos like Telstra and BT. Customers included a FTSE 100 bank, major US retailers, and an international airport. In a funding round announced around July 2016, Darktrace received $65 million from investors including KKR, Summit Partners, Softbank, and Samsung, achieving a valuation exceeding $400 million. This capital supported global growth amid surging demand for its cyber defense approach, which reported 600% revenue growth and 240% increase in bookings for the last fiscal year ending prior to the announcement. |
| Mar 2015 | Series A | Invoke Capital (lead); Talis Capital (lead); Hoxton Ventures | $18M | $80M | Darktrace is a cybersecurity company specializing in Enterprise Immune System technology based on machine learning and mathematics from the University of Cambridge for early detection of cyber threats. The company raised $18 million in funding on March 17-18, 2015, from Invoke Capital, Talis Capital, Hoxton Ventures, and private individuals at a post-money valuation of $80 million. Invoke Capital and Talis Capital were lead investors. Funds were allocated to fuel global growth, including tripling staff in a year and expanding into Asia Pacific. Darktrace had customers including Virgin Trains, BT, and Drax, demonstrating impressive sales traction and rapid growth. |
Who has invested in Darktrace?
10 investors have backed Darktrace across its funding rounds, including KKR, Summit Partners, Ten Eleven Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, Insight Partners and SoftBank Group.
Lead investors include Vitruvian Partners, Insight Partners, KKR, Summit Partners, Invoke Capital and 1 other investor.
Darktrace Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 New York City, NY | 3 | Lead | Jul 2016 | |
| San Francisco, CA | 3 | Participant | Jul 2016 | |
| London | 3 | Participant | Mar 2015 | |
| Boston, MA | 3 | Lead | Jul 2015 | |
 Tokyo | 1 | Participant | Jul 2016 | |
| United States | 1 | Participant | Sep 2018 | |
| London | 1 | Lead | Mar 2015 | |
| New York City, NY | 1 | Lead | Jul 2017 | |
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Darktrace
Darktrace has acquired 3 companies to date.
Last acquisition by Darktrace was on July 21st 2025. Darktrace acquired Mira Security for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Darktrace
| Description | Mira Security is a cybersecurity firm offering visibility into encrypted TLS traffic for enterprise teams. Its decryption platform integrates with SIEM tools like Splunk and ELK without breaking encryption, preserving privacy. Deployed in Fortune 500 networks, Mira Security operates from Israel with global support via mirasecurity.com. | Cado Security offers a cloud-native investigation platform for incident response in AWS, Azure, GCP, containers, and serverless environments. The London-headquartered startup, launched in 2021, automates forensic timelines, malware extraction, and threat hunting to accelerate security team workflows. | Cybersprint is a provider of digital risk protection services that identifies and mitigates external cyber threats across the internet surface. The Tel Aviv-based company scans for exposed assets, leaked credentials, and attack surfaces to help organizations secure their digital footprint against advanced persistent threats. |
| HQ Country | | |  |
| HQ City | Pittsburgh, PA | London | The Hague |
| Deal Date | 21 Jul 2025 | 9 Jan 2025 | 23 Feb 2022 |
| Valuation | undisclosed | $75M | $54M |
| EV/Revenue | |||
| EV/EBITDA | |||
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Darktrace Competitors
Darktrace competitors include listed companies like Trend Micro and Varonis Systems, and private ones like Abnormal AI, Coalition, Verkada and Cato Networks.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Publicly listed | $1.8B | $488M | $5.4B | 2.1x | |
| United States | Publicly listed | $624M | ($147M) | $5.5B | 7.5x | |
| Las Vegas, NV | Private | $200M | - | $5.1B | 25.5x | |
| San Francisco, CA | Private | $325M | - | $5B | - | |
| San Francisco, CA | Private | - | - | $5.8B | - | |
 Tel Aviv | Private | $300M | - | $4.8B | 16.0x |
Darktrace Public Comps
Darktrace is no longer listed, but its public comps include Trend Micro, Varonis Systems, Glory View Technology, BlackBerry, Qualys, CommVault Systems, Clear Secure, Tenable, Netskope and Cellebrite.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $1.8B | $488M | 2.2x | 2.1x | 8.0x | 8.1x | |||
| $624M | ($147M) | 8.5x | 7.5x | (36.0x) | 229.5x | |||
| $176M | $53M | 38.7x | 39.4x | 127.8x | 129.4x | |||
| $549M | $83M | 8.3x | 7.8x | 54.9x | 36.6x | |||
| $669M | $236M | 8.7x | 8.1x | 24.5x | 17.6x | |||
| $1.2B | $84M | 5.2x | 5.0x | 72.9x | 23.2x | |||
| $901M | $216M | 3.7x | 3.2x | 15.3x | 9.5x | |||
| $999M | $31M | 4.1x | 3.9x | 129.9x | 15.3x | |||
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Common questions about Darktrace
| When was Darktrace founded? | Darktrace was founded in 2013. |
| Where is Darktrace headquartered? | Darktrace is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom. |
| Is Darktrace publicly listed? | No, Darktrace was acquired by Thoma Bravo in April 2024. |
| Who acquired Darktrace? | Darktrace was acquired by Thoma Bravo in April 2024. |
| How much was Darktrace acquired for? | Darktrace was acquired for $5.3B in April 2024, a 9.8x revenue multiple. |
| What is Darktrace's valuation? | Darktrace was last valued at $1.6B in its Series E in September 2018. |
| How much funding has Darktrace raised? | Darktrace has raised $231M across 5 funding rounds. |
| What was Darktrace's last funding round? | Darktrace's last funding round was a $50M Series E in September 2018, led by Vitruvian Partners. |
| Who are Darktrace's investors? | Darktrace's investors include KKR, Ten Eleven Ventures, Hoxton Ventures, Summit Partners, SoftBank Group, Sweetwater Capital Partners, Talis Capital, Insight Partners, Vitruvian Partners and Invoke Capital. |
| Which companies are comparable to Darktrace? | Companies comparable to Darktrace include Trend Micro, Varonis Systems, Abnormal AI, Coalition, Verkada and Cato Networks. |
| How many companies has Darktrace acquired? | Darktrace has acquired 3 companies, including Mira Security, Cado Security and Cybersprint. |
| What was the largest acquisition by Darktrace? | The $75M acquisition of Cado Security in January 2025 is the largest acquisition Darktrace has made to date. |
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