By Krystal Hu
(Reuters) - Bugcrowd, a 12-year-old crowdsourced cybersecurity startup, has raised $102 million in Series E funding that will help it boost staff to expand internationally and finance potential acquisitions, its chief executive told Reuters.
General Catalyst led the funding round, with participation from existing investors Rally Ventures and Costanoa Ventures. The company, which was founded in Australia in 2012 but is now headquartered in both San Francisco and Sydney, declined to disclose its valuation.
Bugcrowd is known for its bug bounty program which helps companies offer monetary rewards for spotting problems in their public-facing codes. Developers get paid once a bug is identified.
Chief Executive Dave Gerry said Bugcrowd's revenue jumped more than 40% in 2023 due to the launch of a channel program which added 40 partners to its distribution network and new security services offerings. He declined to share revenue details but said the company has yet to achieve $100 million in annual revenue.
The fresh capital will help it add 100 workers to its current employee base of 350. It is keen to expand outside the United States which accounts for about 70% of its revenue. Bugcrowd is also looking at acquisition targets in the security service market.
The company serves about 1,000 customers globally and its clients include OpenAI and T-Mobile.
"We've spent the last 12 months or so rebuilding the management team," said Gerry, who took the helm in November 2022. "The goal is to continue to drive value for clients and for the hacker community, and get the business back to fulfilling the potential that we know we have."
Mark Crane, the General Catalyst partner who led the deal, and Paul Sagan, a senior advisor at General Catalyst, will join Bugcrowd's board.